In This World
by JKL689
Summary: "He will be at To Oh university this evening" "Who is he?" "His name is L Lawliet." When criminals die in jails and the series of Deathnote vanishes, a young Canadian programmer with too much time decides on using her memory of the anime to play a part.
1. Right Here

Hi fanfictioners! My first actual story, i was reading stuff on here for so long i just felt like i had to write one.

I do not own Deathnote, or anything related to it.

**Chap 1**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm buzzing in my ear. I got up and looked around approvingly, about to start my very first day of living here. It was a small apartment, but clean and rather expensive for me too. The best I could afford with my newly acquired job as a game programmer. The only thing really, but the freedom was nice. Freedom at home, that was. As a twenty year old woman in programming, my gender made up about ten percent of all my colleagues. I did not have many friends at work yet. They were all the typical nerds everyone thinks programmers are. iPhone in hand, I walked toward the bathroom while checking the news on the device. I was a major addict when it came to computers, and my iPhone was the next best thing. It seemed so weird and stereotypical for a game programmer like me, but I knew I would panic if it wasn't there on my nightstand every morning.

Waiting for it to recognize my wireless network, I ambled on into the bathroom and picked up my toothbrush, putting it back down as soon as I saw the network sign appear. I clicked on the world news app, the same routine I did every morning. Check the news, check email, and THEN get ready for work. When it loaded, I moved up and down the screen, hungry for any new news. Nothing really caught my eye. There was a serial killing somewhere nearby, but I wasn't that interested in police news. Then I saw it. Something about prisoners dying in Japan. There wasn't much detail added. For a second I stood there, something was on the very edge of my mind…something important that I felt I was about to forget. I stayed still for a while, trying to pry the thought out, but it slipped away. I shrugged and picked up my toothbrush again.

After a quick shower I dressed myself, choosing slacks instead of my usual skirts, and made my way down to my kitchen. I turned the TV on and loaded my Wii, a present from my parents, before going to the kitchen and making myself coffee and toast. After eating and cleaning up the coffee I'd spilled, I walked back to my TV and went on my Wii news, knowing it would give me much more detailed news than my iPhone. I was still a little curious about that news in Japan.

Hmm…criminals in Japanese prisons dying of heart attacks. I stared at the TV, was this an epidemic? A type of disease maybe? One that spread in prisons? Something clicked in me again, a memory in the corner of my mind…something about a notebook…I almost had it! It was right there in my mind but I couldn't remember! Soon, I gave up and checked the time. It was 7:32. If I didn't hurry I was going to miss my bus. I grabbed my purse and rushed over to the shoe closet, pulling out a pair of flats. I was obviously going to be running for my bus today so heels were out of the question, and as comfortable as my tennis shoes were, I couldn't wear them to work.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Mozart's sonata for two pianos in D playing inside my apartment. My personal phone. I ran back in and picked it up. This one was an Android. I only used my iPhone for work.

"May? Really sorry to bother you cause I know your late now but have you checked the news?"

I sighed, "yeah, there was something about criminals dying on it. Anything you want to know?"

My friend yelped dramatically. I'd known her since I was a high school freshman and she still yelped like a little girl.

"Exactly! What happened to you? You're usually a total sucker for the news! Criminals are dying from heart attacks! Isn't that creepy! That's even creepier than the Bermuda triangle stuff! It's like someone can kill supernaturally! What do you think it is? A type of NLP? That would be so cool!" I could almost feel her excitement leaking through the phone.

"So?" I said, "Yeah its cool but what if it's a plan made by the Japanese government to get rid of criminals? I've never heard of anything that could do this but I'm sure there's someone out there who can whip up a gas that makes people die of heart attacks."

For the next ten minutes I was lectured by her about how heart attacks worked and why something like mustard gas or another bio weapon had a very little chance of producing something so natural. I reminded myself that this was why Lena was my friend. She was loud and obnoxious most of the time but her intelligence was the real thing. That was the though that kept me sane while listening to her speech.

"…but forget about that, this is causing a growing uproar May! A lot of people think there's a real person behind this, or a god of death! Justice itself! There are a whole bunch of people that think this is a passing of judgement on evil. That someone is out there killing these criminals because they don't deserve to live. If this continues it'll be the most exciting thing since World War II!"

I smiled a little, "that's silly Lena, a person who can kill people with heart attacks? It's way too supernatural. And anyway, a god of death would know that killing itself is evil if you want to take it that way. Everyone knows that no form of murder can ever be justice."

I could hear her take up an arguing voice, "No, it can't always work that way. Some people deserve to die you know. This could be the work of a person who thinks the world is too corrupt, which it is! There's too much crime in the world, we would be better of with evil dying. We should cheer this person on and…"

"That's something I'd expect to hear from my grandma, Lena", I interrupted. She could get really heated in a debate, and god knows she always won. It didn't help that I was her opponent most of the time. "Killing is wrong. Period. Nothing more said. No one has the right to take human lives into their hands. That's just how it is."

She sighed, "well I'd love to get into a good debate with you May, but I gotta leave now, and I'm sure you do too. Call me in the evening ok?" Any normal person would feel victorious because she was leaving the argument but as her best friend I knew better. She was dedicated to her job. She worked as a nurse, but she was still studying to become a surgeon. A neurosurgeon to be exact. She was also always urging me to go back to uni and study team management so I could be promoted as a manager and later become a director, but I was happy where I was. I used to be a hardcore type A personality, always wanting to be the best in everything. Lena had mentioned that was why she had become friends with me because of it. That, and we'd both loved the same anime. We excelled in high school and I had saved up money by taking up private hacking jobs. I was really proud of my hacking skills, and they'd paid off really well. I had been a real genius, just like Lena, except even more respected since I looked really smart too while she had looked like the typical airhead before you heard her speak.

I smiled a little, "Alright then, talk to you later", I was about to press the end call.

"Wait a minute, I know you're going to research this news as soon as you get to work so ill give you some news that wasn't broadcasted, this person who's killing, the Japanese people are calling him "Kira". Sounds kinda like the word "killer" doesn't it? I think its very fitting."

For a second my mind went completely blank. That word…Kira. I'd heard of it! I knew it, somewhere! Suddenly it clicked the right way and my mouth was open in shock. That anime that we'd read back in sophomore year! Deathnote! I'd loved it to pieces, and now this was just like it! Criminals dying in Japan…I think I needed to go back to bed.

"Wait, Lena!" I stopped her, "Deathnote! Remember! The anime with Light Yagami and L! This is just like it! Its like Deathnote's come to life!"

"Pardon? Are you alright May? What's a death note? Anyway, I really need to go now. I'm gonna be late, bye!" With that, she ended the call and left me wide-eyed. If it was on the news, it had to be real, Kira was real! Lena and I had been addicted to the series when we were in high school. We had spend recesses sitting under a tree reading the manga together! How could she not know!

I could feel that it wasn't a dream. It didn't have the dreamy feeling to it that dreams always had. I slid my iPhone out of my pocket and entered Safari. I typed in "deathnote" into Google and waited anxiously. When the results finally came up I looked over them impatiently. A website about funeral organizations…a memorial service…an obituary writer…no anime. That was impossible, I had searched up deathnote many times back when I was reading it, for episodes to watch, for the movies, there had been hundreds and hundreds of pages for it! Deathnote was famous! I tried vainly again, searching "deathnote episode 1". Still nothing. I tried "L Lawliet". Nothing again. I noted in amusement though, as a few people came up with the name Lawliet in my search. Then I ran to my bedroom, looking through my still-unpacked boxes of stuff for the bundle of deathnote manga. When I finally found it, I beamed at it in pleasure and took it out, flipping to the very first page. To my horror, the drawing on the page were slowly fading, disappearing, starting from page one. The title page was already fully blank.

I called in sick to my boss, clutching a ball of paper in between my teeth to make myself sound like I had a throat infection. He seemed unpleased that I was already taking a leave on my third week of work but believed my sick-sounding voice and gave me a leave on the condition that I bring a doctors note the next day. Then I locked myself in my bedroom and took out all the books in the series. I had every single one, and I had watched all the movies. The second page of the first book was starting to fade, so I started there and read. I read and read for hours, beating the fading of the pages. I tried to photograph some pages but all the photos came out blank, and when I scanned them my scanner broke down. In desperation, I copied down all the important stuff onto my laptop, on Microsoft Project. The names of the hotels they stayed in, times and dates that things happened, everyone's real names, hints and tips for kira's movements, answers to L's riddles, everything I could before the fading caught up.

I continued to read. The fading got faster as time passed so I had to read quickly. Luckily I had a high reading speed from my love of books, so I didn't bypass me until the end. On the very last page, the final words faded seconds after I read them.

After that I sat in my chair for a while, putting my feet up like L to amuse myself. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew one thing for sure. My curiosity was getting the better of me again. It had always been a ruling factor among my emotions, but now it was way up there. Suddenly I knew I had to do it. I had to go there, and see if everything happened just like it did in the anime. I needed the excitement, the sense of content that I had developed about my life and my job began to disappear. I had to go there.

I sat at my desk with my two laptops set up on either side of me, a piece of paper in front of me, and a pen behind my ear. There were a lot of flaws in my plan. For one, I was a newly graduated university student. I was just starting out, I owned only what I had with me, my laptops, my phones, my TV, and my paychecks were the type that disappeared after a month. I needed money, resources, advice. I had never traveled on a plane before, and I didn't exactly have an international network to ask help of. The people I was going to meet had all of these, and the authority to put me behind bars too. All I had were my computer skills, and my knowledge. That knowledge was worth a million bucks though, I told myself. I knew everything, and I knew how to get on L's good side. I sat back in my chair and wondered what I would do if I did get there. Would I help anyone? No…probably not. I wanted to watch. And maybe pretend to be hunting Kira too. The problem was still there though. The problem of how to get the money for my expenses. I waved the arrow around my laptop screen idly, thinking. I hadn't been in this state of mind since I was in high school…since I had been a genius…since…I sat up straight. That was it. The perfect way…

Casual or professional? I stood at my closet the next morning planning my disguise. It was a Saturday so I didn't need to go to work. I was going somewhere else. A coffee shop to be exact.

At that moment I got a phone call. I picked it up, not recognizing the caller ID, and found out it was my apartment's number. Lena's voice came tumbling through.

"Hi May, let me in OK? I'm downstairs at the apartment's buzzer" I pressed the number on the phone and heard the beep at the other end as the door was opened for her. No harm in letting her tag along, she would support my plans. I finished getting dressed in a t-shirt and light-washed jeans, grabbing my glasses and a baseball cap. My eyesight was good enough, but I liked my glasses, the frames were nice and big and they complemented my face. I put my hair into a high ponytail and wore the cap over it, as typical as possible for me when I wasn't at work.

My doorbell rung multiple times per second as I went over open the door. Lena had a habit of doing that. She loved pressing doorbells, and buttons in general. It gave me a little headache though. I walked over and opened it to be greeted by her in her typical outfit of denim shorts and a t-shirt.

"Going somewhere May? I planned to just hang out around here for the day but if you're going out somewhere ill come too."

I smiled, "yeah, I'm going out. My first contact in about five years I think."

She smiled back knowingly and then let out an excited squeal, "You're hacking again! Does this mean you're saving up to go back to university?"

I shook my head, "no, I need to travel to Japan." She stared at me, "Japan? Why?"

"Do you remember a person named L Lawliet, Lena?"

"Nope, should I?" She questioned. Well…it was worth a try.

"How about Light Yagami?" I asked again, hoping she would remember something.

"Not at all. I don't think you've ever mentioned either of them." She continued to watch me, "Who are they?"

"Lawliet is a…relative of mine. He's sick and I'm going there to visit him. He's in Japan for work at the moment", I made up quickly.

"And your gay friend?" She still stared at me seriously.

"Well he's…wait a minute did you say Light's gay?" I looked at her, perplexed. She giggled, "Ya-ga-Mi", she said, exaggerating every syllable, "im-a-gaY". We both laughed. Trust her to notice it that quickly.

"Well, we should go now. Wanna come?" I knew her answer already. She stuck her tongue out at me, pushed her purse farther up her shoulder, and gestured at me to hurry up.

We met him at Coffeetime at exactly 12:00 noon. The job I was briefed on this time was a lot harder than the others I had done before. My clients were a man and a woman, both dressed formally in contrast to our casual looks. The woman was the vice-president of a research and technology company and the man was a project manager working for her. They wanted me to alter a project that one of their rivals was working on by hacking into the computer of their CEO and changing them so they wouldn't make the two million they had invested into the project. I got five thousand in down payment.

I went home and worked on it for two days. I called in sick that Monday, saying my fever had gotten worse and bribing a doctor to give me a note that I sent to work with a colleague. The guy's security system was amazing, too amazing for a normal CEO. Lena immediately suspected a crime history. She stayed in my apartment all weekend, reading on my couch and passing time by baking brownies while I worked. Occasionally she gave me help. She wasn't as good a hacker as me but she did have some skills. I had always wondered why Lena, being a pacifist, approved of my hacking skills.

I managed to get the job done and receive the rest of the twenty-thousand. After it was delivered, I sat in my apartment, feeling happy for myself. I had a reliable source of money now. As soon as I had put in into different banks (in small deposits at a time of course) so I could access it internationally, I was going to be off.

The next day I quit my job. It wasn't needed anymore, I didn't need to worry about money. I booked a nighttime flight and left the care of my apartment and most of my stuff to Lena. I had to travel light so I just took my laptops, phones, and clothes. I was brimming with excitement. I was going to meet the best anime characters ever created, L and Light. When I got there I immediately booked into Tokyo Hotel. I didn't expect it to be so expensive! I could afford it of course, but still…

Japan was full of information about Kira. Everyone was talking about him. There were Kira supporters everywhere. I found myself disapproving of them, even though I had decided not to take a side. I stayed in the hotel for a few days under the name Mayra Amara. Mayra was my real first name, where the nickname May had come from. I was given that name by my Indian great-aunt, because of the little bit of Indian blood in me. I supposed that's where the silky black hair I was so proud of had come from. Amara was the last name of my Vietnamese cousin. Easy to remember. I sat in my hotel room and watched as L faced of with Kira on TV and dared Kira to kill him. I liked that, it's like he was showing the world that he wasn't the coward who hid his face like the world seemed to think, but an intelligent person. I took out my laptop and opened it to show the things I'd copied down. This was about the time L would take the To Oh exams and reveal himself to Light. I couldn't approach him before that, if I did, I wouldn't be able to explain why I knew he was L. I needed to be there when he revealed his identity.

I had come up with a plan already. I was going to take the To Oh university entrance exam.

On the day of the exam, I dressed up as immaculately as possible. I had already registered my name as a foreign exchange student. I pondered about the attitude I should take, and then came up with careless and sarcastic. I wanted to make L curious about me. Curious enough to get me involved. I wore a relatively tight dress shirt and dress pants with a delicate grey baby doll coat and grey flats with bows on them. I took a large tote bag-sized purse with me where I kept one of my laptops along with everything else I needed, and did my hair up in a slightly loose French twist.

I had to take the metro to the university. Worst. Experience. Ever. I found myself wishing desperately for a car. Or at least a bicycle. Maybe I'd buy one later. When I got there, I showed them my registration sheets and they told me I was number 76. When I got to the exam room I immediately searched for a messy black head and a neat brown one.

The one I saw first was L.

That's the moment realization hit me, and it hit me hard. I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. I didn't show it though. On the outside I was merely peering around the room. L was real. Kira was real. SHINIGAMI WERE REAL. I slowly walked to the front and took a seat a little farther off from him. I was still a little shocked when the test papers were given to me. I surveyed the entire test first. I needed a good score if I wanted to get L's attention. Both he and Light would be getting one hundred percents. I needed a perfect here too. The brief thought came up that I would be considered for the commencement speech, but I pushed it away. I just needed to get a hundred percent.

When there was about ten minutes left, I was sure I had all the answers except one. I considered making an educated guess and crossing my fingers but decided that was out of the question. I had to be sure I would score a perfect. It wasn't essentially a hard question, being multiple choice, but it was something that I'd just never learned. It was also the very last question. When I looked up I noticed the two students in front of me. They were in very similar positions, with their heads propped up on their hands and leaning forward. One was writing with his left hand and the other was writing with his right hand, their writing hands were close to each other. Suddenly the one on the right began tapping his pencil very quietly, as if deep in thought. The other guy colored an answer in. I smiled, this was going to be interesting. I listened carefully for the next tapping. The guy on the left tapped his pencil a few times.

7…0 I smirked as I realized he was asking for the answer to question 70. They were on the second last question. The other guy started tapping now. One single light tap, and then a harder tap. The lighter one was probably to specify a letter. The one harder tap meant "a". the multiple choice answer was "a". Then they arrived at the very last question. The on I was stuck on. I leaned forward a little. The one on the right tapped the number 71, the last question. The one on the left then tapped "d". I started to shade it in hesitantly. The one on the left began tapping again: "u…s…u…r…e". He probably meant to say 'are you sure'. The other guy then tapped a longer sequence and I concentrated on counting: l…r…n…t…y...t…d. Lrnt ytd. I translated roughly into 'learnt yesterday". He seemed pretty sure, and I smiled and shaded it in a little more confidently.

Right then the time was up and the examiners started collecting papers. I handed mine in happily and headed home, waiting for the results.


	2. A Little Change

I typed this up along with the first one but fanfiction wouldn't let me upload for the first two days. Second chapter, hope you like.

I do not own death note.

**Chap 2**

I was beaming two days later when I was invited back via letter, I didn't think the results would be in so quickly. I took a shower and dressed up in an a-line skirt and a fitted dress shirt, taking the same large purse with my laptop. I thought of calling Lena since I hadn't done so for a couple of days but decided there wasn't enough time. I was in such a great mood that I even left my hair down to mid-back and curled the ends inward. I ordered a Japanese breakfast from room service and gulped it all down quickly. I had never really like Japanese food but as they said; when it Rome, do as the Romans do. Before I left I put on a pair of black platform heels that took my 5 foot 6 to a 5 foot 7

I took the metro again, to my dislike, and arrived at the university. I got there exactly five minutes earlier than the letter had said and showed my registration and student number to the lady at the desk.

"Why are you here so early? The commencement starting in four hours", she asked critically.

"The letter I was given asked me to come at this time", I said softly, showing her the letter. She looked at it briefly, "are you number 33, 76, or 42?"

"I'm number 76", I wondered how she had known my number. She looked at me curiously, "you're one of the three that the director asked to see. Go to room 345, right down that hall there", she told me. I complied. Halfway there, I stopped suddenly as a thought ran through my head. One of the three…I realized with a start what it would mean. I stood there a moment trying to stop my heart from beating so fast in excitement before I continued to the room.

When I entered they were both already there. they turned to look at me and it took all I had to conceal my emotions for that moment and not gape open-mouthed at them. L was just as I had though he would be. He was sitting in the same weird position, with mussed hair and bangs under his eyes. His thumb came to his mouth and he spent a second chewing on it when he saw me. He was wearing a loose white shirt and baggy jeans, and still had bags under his eyes. Light was completely different. His smooth brown hair was combed neatly into his bangs and there wasn't a wrinkle to be seen in his clothes. He smiled politely when I came in but it never reached his eyes. The only other person in the room was an older man dressed in a suit. Probably the director of the university. He gestured for me to sit down at the circular table and I did so in the only empty seat, beside L. I brought my purse into my lap and rested my hands on it calmly.

"I'm sure you three are wondering why you are here, as I didn't mention so in the letters sent to you. I believe you three are Light Yagami, Hideki Ryuuga, and Mayra Amara", he said, looking at each of us in turn. He probably talked in English for my sake.

"I called you here to tell you both good and bad news. The good news is that you all have been accepted into To Oh university with one hundred percent scores on the entrance exams." He paused to let it sink in, as if expecting us to jump up in joy. I could see his shock as Light and I didn't react at all and L only put his thumb back into his mouth. I would have giggled at his reaction if I could have.

"The bad news however, is almost the same thing. I'm sure you are all aware that we need a representative to read the speech this evening. Once, a long time ago, we had two students tie with 96.7 scores but this has never happened before. We can only allow two representatives", he paused sadly. I noticed he looked a bit upset and immediately came to the conclusion that what he was really worried about was his university getting a bad reputation for having easy entrance exams.

"So as you all can see, we have a dilemma here. Only two of you can be representatives. The only thing I can think of at this point is asking you to toss coins…" he paused sadly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw L leaning forward a little as if he was going to say something. I would be in trouble if he proposed another exam. This was where I decided to intervene.

"Sir, if I may, I'd like to give up my chance of being representative. I'm not very interested in it, as I'm not as dedicated to study here. I came here for the experience and knowledge of a Japanese university in computer studies and not to complete the full graduation program. As I may leave soon, I don't think I'm very inclined to be a representative."

The expressions on the director's face was incredulous. As if he didn't know whether to thank me or hate me. I had made his job much easier after all, but I had come close to insulting his university in doing so.

"Alright then, Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuuga will be this year's representatives. You two may come back here an hour before the commencement to receive your scripts", he said, clearly dismissing us. We all stood up and made our way out of the room. I wondered if I should just go back to the hotel and wait or spend time at a coffee shop nearby. Before I could decide, my thoughts were interrupted by L, or Ryuuga.

"Computer studies, Miss Amara?" he asked politely in perfect English, Light paused before turning away and looked back toward us.

"I'm a bit of a computer addict Mr. Ryuuga", it felt strange using his name with the English version of honorifics.

At that moment, Light put a curious expression on, "you don't seem like the type Amara-san."

"I suppose so but it's a passion of mine", I replied. Light's English had a faint lisp to it but it was still close to perfect. It was ok to spend time talking to them since it wouldn't alter the major plot line. L only revealed his identity after the speech.

"Can I tell you two something that you must promise not to reveal to anyone?" L asked, turning to both of us. I doubted he was going to tell us who he was, so I nodded curiously.

"Back in 1949, this university had four students as representatives. They all tied with scores of 97.4%", He watched us, waiting for our reactions. I kept all the surprise from showing on my face and looked at him as if it was the most typical news in the world and gave him my conclusion.

"Not surprising, the director was worried about the reputation of his university. He didn't want everyone to think it was easy to achieve a perfect in the entrance exams". L tilted his head to the side and Light spoke up.

"I'm sorry if this may seem offending to you Amara-san, but I actually thought the reason was that the director was unwilling to let a foreign student represent his university class", Light said. I pondered that, it could be true.

"No offense taken, that's a valid point Mr. Yagami", I said. We both turned to look at L. He had his thumb in his mouth again.

"I had thought of both solutions and I was just about to ask the director if I could give up my place to see how he would react. If he had let the two of you become representatives, then Miss Amara's theory would have been correct. However if he had tried to narrow it down to one representative, Yagami-san's theory would have been correct."

We both spent a moment staring at L, before I realized that was what he had been about to do before I had interrupted.

"I'm terribly sorry to have interrupted your experiment Mr. Ryuuga", I said quickly. He gave me a strange friendly smile, "There was no problem Miss Amara. It wouldn't have probably caused unnecessary tension anyway."

At this, Light smiled. He's interested in us, I thought. He's probably never met someone who can rival his intelligence before. I discovered that I was right when he spoke.

"If both of you have some free time, why don't we spend some time in a coffee shop I know?"

Both L and I agreed. My mind was going ballistic. I was going to have coffee with the two greatest minds since Einstein.

Light ordered your everyday iced cappuccino. I went for the daring and added some whipped cream on it. L went and ordered a strawberry shake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Light spent a second staring, I was already used to this from watching the anime so I didn't show anything, even when Light gave me the "is this guy serious?" look.

L, being L, brought up the most typical of all subjects at that moment in Japan.

Kira.

"I suppose you two have already heard the news?" he asked idly, "what do you think of it?"

Light answered first.

"I really don't know Ryuuga-san. Killing is wrong, but I have a feeling the crime rate will decrease drastically with this person around." A typical answer. He never stated his real feeling about Kira, or even if he had any feelings about the killings.

"Just Ryuuga will do please. And yes, they probably will. What about you Miss Amara?" he looked at me questioningly. I delivered my answer immediately.

"If you asked me to pick a side, I would be against Kira. If he or she really is a person, they're just a normal human with a god-complex. Some criminals commit crime just to feed their families, and the stores they steal from can obviously spare a few goods. I'm not pro-stealing but this is the way the world works and this Kira person is just trying to mess with it. It won't be long before some smart detective like L finds and sentences him or her to death."

I sat back and waited for L to say something, and then remembered that not many people even knew the detective L existed. Damn…how was I going to explain this one…

"That is a very reasonable opinion Miss Amara. How did you know about the existence of the detective L though? I myself only learned of him elusively." L stuck his finger back into his mouth and waited for my answer. I wondered what to say. If I said I knew someone in the police force, it was obvious he would go look for the person and fire him for revealing classified information. Luckily for me, my phone beeped at that exact moment, saying that I had voicemail.

"You can check it, there's no need to be so formal", L said, giving me a tiny smile. I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone, clicking on voicemail. Lena's voice spoke out of the phone.

"_Hey, May! How's Japan? Is your sick relative alright? Call me back later Kay?"_

I inwardly groaned at that, hoping no one would ask where this sick relative was. Maybe I could say it was an excuse I had given her…

Instead of saying anything, I turned to find L deep in thought, mumbling to himself.

"May…computer studies…hmmm", he turned to look at me, "You are a computer hacker, am I right?"

I allowed the briefest moment of surprise to leak onto my face, "yes you are, how did you know?"

Light chose the moment to glare at me. Oh right, I'm a criminal in his eyes now, and he's Kira.

"You performed an excellent job for one of my acquaintances a while back. You are truly talented Miss Amara."

"Thank you Mr. Ryuuga." I'd done a job for someone who knew L? I had no clue.

"I find it rather ironic that the two of you talk about hacking as if it was a job. We're you ever caught, Amara-san?" Light chose to intervene.

"I don't believe I would be here if I was Mr. Yagami", this was starting to get tiring. Light then checked the time, "it seems I have to go now. It was a pleasure to meet you both". We waved to him as he left.

"Well, I'd better be going too now", I started and L stood up too. We walked out of the coffee shop together. L indicated that I stop by touching my arm when we got outside. I looked at him in surprise.

"What is the real reason you came to Japan, Miss Amara?"

I concealed a smile. Suddenly I couldn't help it anymore. This was the perfect chance. I would make the great detective L come after me. "I came here to attain resources ".

"And what resources are you after?" he asked a little suspiciously.

"Resources that can only be attained after I find a certain person." Now the fun would begin. I was tired of the hiding, the pretending. This would be the moment.

"Where is this person you are trying to find?" his hand was still on my arm. It tightened just the slightest bit.

"He will be at To Oh university this evening"

"Who is he?"

"His name is L Lawliet."


	3. Into Pieces

Thank you so much for your reviews! i didn't think i'd get any with the story being so short but u guys surprised me!

answer to review: the next two chapters will be updated maybe every other day and after that...maybe once ever three days? my chapters are around 5 microword pages long so they take me about two hours to type out. I have 30 minutes of extra time (where I'm usually just roaming around the house being bored) every day, which i can now write fanfiction in. i hope that updating timeline isn't too long. i want this to be a really long story.

I do not own deathnote

**Chap 3**

At the moment I knew he had the upper hand. He could put me under interrogation like he had done to Misa. I didn't really mind, I'd trained myself for interrogation well enough when I was a hacker. But he wouldn't hurt me. That I knew for sure. I was the victim and he was the assassin holding me at gunpoint. I was venerable, but he wouldn't shoot me. The assassin wouldn't shoot the victim as long as he though the victim would tell him the information he wanted to know. He'd want me on his side.

I had already earned his respect, that I knew. But I wanted to show him that he hadn't earned mine yet, even though he had, long ago when I'd slouched across my sofa with my laptop trying to predict his moves on deathnote...

I states back fiercely at him. Trying to convey that I didn't give a damn. That his name was just as important to me as the guy down the street from us. He was silent for a while.

"Come with me"

For the first time I completely revealed my surprise. Go with him? Where? Was I allowed to make use of his resources then? I'd thought he would have me kidnapped later by Watari. He intrigued me. He was just so…interesting. So purely interesting. There was only one possible answer.

"Fine"

I got into his car. I was still the victim, now going with her assassin. Watari spared me a brief glance of surprise and then began driving toward the Tokyo hotel.

"Why did you agree Miss Amara?"

I flashed him a knowing smile. I saw Watari peering at me through the mirror in the front.

"I know what I want and I know how to get it. There's no reason to delay anything. I told you I needed resources. Only someone like you can have them. It would just be a bother to find someone else when you're right here. You can interrogate me if you like. You won't get anything. And you won't understand any lie detector you use on me.", I said, knowing my voice was too neutral for a detector. I'd tried a lie detection software once and confirmed that it didn't work on me. I came up with a goal for myself, just to tell L. After all I couldn't exactly say I was here because I wanted to stand by and watch, because I found him so interesting. My goal to the world would be to catch Kira. And if L was nice enough I might save him from his impending death. The series did get boring after he died. I didn't like Light very much.

"What is your goal Miss Amara? What do you want so much?" L seemed deep in though.

"Isn't it obvious, Lawliet? I want to catch Kira."

The car suddenly swerved to the left and I was treated to being shoved into the glass of my window, almost bruising my cheek. I held my hand to my face and grimaced at the pain. Then I turned around to see L trying to get up from being pushed into the side of my knee, clutching his head, and Watari staring at me, shocked. I suddenly realized what I had said.

"Umm..hi! I'm Mayra, nice to meet you?" I tried, hopelessly. Watari immediately held a knife to my throat. He didn't play games. Fortunately the man was getting old. I was able to slide out sideways, knowing the if he went for me he might stab L instead, and grab the knife, holding it to L's throat. Feeling the steel on his neck, L slowly lowered himself back into the position where he was laying down the right of me with the top of his head touching the side of my right leg. I lowered the knife as he moved.

"I don't mean any harm. I'm only reacting like this because I could've died. Basic human instinct that's all. Is it alright to not kill me now?" I tried to sound a little nervous but it came out sounding sarcastic. Damn it…I've been hiding my emotions for too long…

L's voice came to my rescue, "Watari, this girl is someone who I've just met. She's here for reasons you've probably already guessed. There's no need to be suspicious."

Watari nodded and moved so he was facing the front again, and I released L and waited for him to sit back up. Luckily we hadn't been caught in a car crash as the road was not too busy. L remained quiet for a minute, then asked Watari to put up the glass. When he did so, it blocked him completely from what we may say.

"I'll have to ask you to not call me that, Miss Amara. It has already proved to be dangerous", he said after a while. I silently agreed.

We drove on until we reached the Tokyo hotel. L made his way to his room with Watari and I following. Before we went in, he turned to me.

"I understand that you want to catch Kira. As you probably know, we share the same goal. Therefore, I apologize that I have to do this."

It was the last thing I heard before I suddenly felt dizzy...and noticed a hand slipping itself under my lower back as the ceiling was slowly raised higher and higher.

I resisted the urge to open my eyes. First, I needed to know where I was. I stubbornly told myself that I would NOT open my eyes until I knew at least that and who I was with. There was certainly someone else in the room. I could hear the faint sound of breathing. My theory was confirmed when a voice spoke out.

"Watari, her brain waves are active again. Please bring it out."

Well, I knew where I was now. And I knew who was sitting somewhere roughly one o'clock to me. The room had light brown walls and a lamp in one corner shining bright, energy-saver light. There was a couch by the far wall which held my purse…and all my clothes. I looked down at myself to find that I was wearing what looked like a surgery gown the bright blue ones that patients needed to wear. I only hoped L had enough etiquette to have let one of his female investigators handle me. My hands were handcuffed behind me and I was laying down on another couch. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and took a good look at the world's greatest detective, sitting in front of me. That's when I noticed a cool sensation on the left side of my head, just above my left ear. It felt like cold jell. It took me a little while to realize it was meant to record my brain waves.

"So, what's this about L? Lets get it over with already", I felt satisfied with how careless my tone sounded. The last thing I needed was to break down now. L was balancing a laptop on his knees, seating in his typical crouch. A wire connected it to the device that was mapping my brain waves. Watari was right behind him.

"I don't like small talk Miss Amara, so I'll get straight to the point. How did you know my name." he watched his laptop intensely.

"I didn't, not until you expressed shock at hearing your name. You confirmed it yourself", I bluffed. Let him chew on that. He digested it for a moment, "that only explains how you proved it, not how you knew in the first place. Please reveal the information before I take more drastic action."

I though for a second. Unfortunately I could not think of anything good. Was there a way to find out the name of a man who was virtually anonymous? I never even considered telling him the truth. Even if he did believe me, I really didn't want to. I would ruin everything.

"I honestly don't know how to tell you, L. There isn't a way TO tell you. That's just the simple truth. If I could make up a nice story, I would. But that's not possible. And telling you isn't possible either. So I'll say this. Right at this moment, there is not a single living soul on the earth who knows your name except the people in his room. I don't have much but my word, as you can see, but I won't expose this information to anyone. I'm not interested in you Lawliet. I'm only interested in anything I can get my hands on to find Kira. Anything else means nothing to me. We can stay in here for days if you like, but this is all I can say."

I had to admit it was impressive. Watari, who wasn't as good at concealing his emotions, looked like he honestly did not know what to do as he watched the laptop screen. That probably meant that anything I said was based on knowledge coming from an existing source in my brain, it was true. There was nothing either of them could do to alter it.

"Watari, please leave", L said. The older man left quietly. L turned to me.

"You know something. I can still get you to say something, I know it. Tell me Miss Amara!" his voice raised the slightest bit. I could tell he was getting desperate. I turned my head away and stayed quiet.

"I've already said everything I will say about this, L."

He made me stay in that room for three days. It was a routine, every morning at six he would come in and try to talk something out of me. It never worked of course, but he tried. Around lunchtime…well, I suppose he was trying to be considerate by sending me cake via Watari but he didn't seem to realize that I couldn't survive on it like he did. He came again in the evenings. He didn't just sit down and interrogate me all the time. Sometimes he would just talk. About Kira, about the latest news, about something stupid Matsuda had done. Watari came in sometimes too, talking about how important it was that I tell him my sources and how the world would be in trouble if L dies and there was no one to handle the harder cases. I replied politely to him but kept mostly quiet. I wasn't really sure how to deal with old people. Having never met any of my grandparents, they were always a mystery to me. I was always told you have to be polite to them. How did you refuse to answer someone while seeming polite?

It was the fourth day that it happened. L came in like usual, this time he told me of his plans to make Light a part of the Kira investigation. I nodded, saying it was a good idea and giving him my opinions on it. I liked it when he just talked like this. Unfortunately when he realized I was a little more talkative, he thought I would be talkative about other things too. He asked the question again.

"I want an answer. How do you know my name? Did someone tell you? Who was it?"

I immediately turned silent again. I really didn't know what to say when he asked. Maybe if I told him something stupid like: 'it came to me in a dream' he'd leave me alone and go ponder it in a corner. I wasn't in a good mood.

"The only thing I have to say to you about that it that it's for me to know and you to worry your sugar-filled head about", I tilted my chin up and smirked at him for extra emphasis.

Apparently he wasn't in a very good mood either.

"Are you aware, Miss Amara, of the various things police do to their prisoners when they interrogate them?" He sat on the couch opposite to me in his crouch again.

"Fingers are very sensitive parts. When cut off, the blood flow is increased and the pressure of the blood pushing itself through your capillaries tend to cause extreme pain when left open for a while." I could hear his voice shaking a little.

"There are also people out there who's main job is to cause intense psychological pain through physical feeling. You see, most humans are disgusted by the sight of other's blood, but terrified of the sight of their own. When arteries in the hand are sliced open sideways, the person suffering will start having intense emotional problems. This is because our bodies are very precious to us humans. Seeing something disturb them at this level is psychologically devastating. Did you know this?"

Suddenly I felt a shiver. His voice had changed a little. It was now leaking with the desperation of a person who would resort to anything. I could tell how he was trying to conceal it, but it wasn't working that well.

"I demand that you tell me this instant. Where did you learn my name!"

When I didn't answer, which took more effort than the other times, he walked over to this laptop which was connected to the probe on my head.

"This, Miss Amara, has many, many uses", He was calm again. The second of whatever-that-was that I had seen in him was completely gone. He was completely rational again, the detective that could solve any case. As if he knew there was no way he would fail now. I shivered more as I saw his long fingers type smoothly on the laptop.

I knew he was about to do something to make me regret I had ever met him, but I couldn't help but feel the admiration. Admiration that he could keep up his façade for so long, never failing. That he could maintain a perfectly rational outlook while his sense of security was falling to pieces around him. Because of me.

I realized what he was doing seconds before he pressed the 'execute command' button. He was sending vibrations into my brain. One's that would make me fell pain that never existed.

An so right then, with him looking at me like he had won, finger still on the touchpad. When I had my head down because I didn't know what to do. What to say. Right then when he probably hated me for not going with his plans, and when anyone in my position would have been infuriated and helpless. But I only felt admiration for the world's greatest detective. When the blinding pain in my head was past the level of screaming, when I was completely silent.

That was the moment I decided I to make sure L was going to live.

**next one coming soon. hope u liked. (no, she's not dead...)**


	4. Safe With me

next one up guys! Thanks so much for the reviews, they really do inspire me. This one's approaching the length of my first chapter, they usually end up really long because once i start typing its endless. hope you enjoy!

**Chap 4**

The first thing I felt were the pillows. There were as soft as bird's wings, before I opened my eyes I absently felt myself moving my hand across them to enjoy their softness. Then I remembered everything. I resisted the urge to open my eyes immediately, and tried to take note of my surroundings using whatever other senses I could.

I could feel that I was wearing the same shirt that I had worn to the directors office. It's silky material was unmistakable. I felt skin when I shifted my legs a little so I was probably wearing my skirt again. I decided it was ok to open my eyes.

I was in a bed. A really SOFT bed. I wondered for a brief frightening moment if I had revealed any information about the real reason I knew L's name. that would explain why he was so nice as to put me in the softest bed I'd ever slept in. And I'd slept in some really soft beds. The thought went away when I ran the scene through in my head and confirmed to myself that I hadn't said anything until the moment I passed out.

_Maybe he just gave up…_

The knock on the door made me jump. I called for the person to enter. Of course, it was L who entered the room. I looked at him warily, I was the victim, but I could still have some pride.

"I suppose you're feeling better Miss Amara?"

"Infinitesimally", I replied, a little snappy, "to what do I owe the honor of seeing your sleep-deprived face this lovely morning?"

"I think I'll have to tell you this before we say anything farther, for reasons you will soon learn, the last three days never happened. I'm in a bit of a predicament and I don't have time to refusing potential allies when they are right here. I will be very straightforward, I would like to use your skills."

I wanted to scream, maybe even to blink…but that wasn't possible. I needed to keep my façade just as badly as L needed to keep his. I saw right through him at the time though. He only stopped my interrogation because he knew he wouldn't get anything out of me and would keep making himself look like a fool as he tried.

"Fine. It's why I came here anyway. How soon is our commencement? I need to be at the university", I pretended he had just talked about something as ordinary as the weather and ran my fingers though my tangled hair.

"Today evening, Miss Amara. I will have to notify you that I will be tracking a Kira suspect after the speech. Would you like to keep an eye on him in case you notice anything strange?"

I thought about it, "sure, L. Are you going to tell Light your identity?"

He paused, "yes, that was my plan indeed. It goes without showing that I want you to take over for me and catch him if I die within the next few days. How did you come to the same conclusion about Light?"

"He seemed to match my Kira requirements perfectly when I met him. That, and he's smart too. It's very predictable, L", I said matter-of-factly.

"I see. Please call me Ryuzaki while we are here. It is my new alias", he put his thumb part-way into his mouth, to think.

"And as you already know, I go by May. I'm not used to being called Miss Amara", I examined my nails.

"That will be fine by me, May. You may stay in the task force headquarters after the commencement to look through some files with me."

The commencement went just as it had in the anime. As requested by Ryuzaki, I trailed them both closely so I could give him my analysis later. I decided to humor him by telling him about Light's angry face from where I was watching when L had told him there were, in fact, four cards and not three.

That evening found me sprawled on Ryuzaki's couch with my laptop. The rest of the task force was a little intrigued by me. They were probably wondering about how they had to go through a million processes of elimination before they were chosen, specially, to work with L. I had gained permission way to easily compared to them.

I spent some time compiling a 3-axis graph with variables "age", "severe-ness of crime", and "distance from Japan". I told them it was to see if Kira had a pattern. In the end there was just a bunch of dots on a 3D graph. No line. No trend. People did crime, they died. That was it. But it was worth it to just use my laptop again. I had been away from it for a while and my fingers had started yearning to make my virtual creations again.

Soon Aizawa, Ukita and Mogi started to leave. Matsuda and Mr. Yagami were still flipping through files to organize them. I settled back into my sofa with a book from my bag, not wanting to sleep.

"May will you come take a look at these?" L gestures at me. I stood up and made my way over curiously to his laptop.

"These are online profiles of the families of police officers who were given the classified information that seems to be leaking to Kira. Tell me which people seems worth investigating." At this point both Matsuda's and chief Yagami's eyes were glued on me. I took about fifteen minutes sorting though them. I searched by ages, which made it a lot easier, and came up with two police families. The one's I had known of from the anime, of course.

"Chief Kitamura's two sons, and of course, Light and Sayu Yagami from Chief Yagami's house", I told him. He nodded approvingly, "and how did you arrive at these solutions?"

"Kira has to be between fifteen and thirty. That's typically the age someone can have a god complex like this. Any younger and the person wouldn't kill very many people out of fear, and anyone older would kill for business or personal gain", I gave him the same explanation I had heard him say in the movie. The two police officers gaped at me, having heard the same thing earlier from Ryuzaki.

"Thank you very much May", he returned to his work without another word. I decided to be a little curious here.

"You're working on a different case Ryuzaki?"

"Yes, it's very minor so it won't affect the Kira case. I was requested to capture a dangerous gang of nine people that call themselves 13EX. I would have refused but I have my suspicions to believe that these people have been bribing one of the people in my organization and now know my identity. If I want to finish the Kira case, I must first make sure they are eliminated so they don't have the chance to sell the information on my identity to Kira", worry was creeping into his voice.

"May I see? I'll help if I can", I was worried too now. This never happened in the anime. Or maybe it did. It had been mentioned that L was working on a few other cases simultaneously with the Kira case in the beginning. Chief Yagami and Matsuda came over to the laptop as well, having finished their work. I moved aside a little to acknowledge their presence. Ryuzaki thought for a moment, and then turned his laptop toward me and started a briefing.

"Their last movements were here, in Britain. Near Winchester. They were seen selling the drug acid, but they escaped before they were caught. At this time, the only people from my organization who were assigned there were K and F. They both claim to have no contact with the gang members, but it is known that this is the time they may have discovered my identity. I was sent an anonymous email from them A few days ago", he opened up a window and showed us the email:

_You are L. We are 13EX._

"After I showed this to Watari he told me about their past activities. I decided to take it on as a case officially when I was given a request to catch them. They are not in Europe anymore. Their whereabouts are currently unknown."

I thought about it for a moment…Winchester…the name rung a bell…oh yes! Wammy's.

"Ryuzaki, is there anyone at Wammy's house who knows your identity?" I asked hopefully. He didn't even seem fazed that I knew about Wammy's house.

"No, I don't think so, but there might be, I'll have to ask Watari", he clicked a button that connected him to Watari's phone.

"Watari, do you know of anyone at Wammy's house who might know of my name?...yes, that's what we are thinking…no? alright then, thank you….pardon?"

He almost dropped the phone. I stared on nervously. Ryuzaki had gone pale.

"Roger…he knew? You told him? I understand…come to this room immediately."

I jumped to ask him what had been going on, "What happened?"

"It seems Roger may have put two and two together to find out who I was. Watari had let some things slip about my registration there", there was a beep from the tab of his email and he flipped back to it quickly. There was a single new email, written in English black letters. The sender's name was F.

"_L, I heard all about it. They will be there at 9:45."_

"No way…" I muttered, this never happened in the anime! Maybe it was because of me being here. Did I alter something? At that moment Watari came into the room and scanned the email.

"Ryuzaki, I can take care of their disposal. I would advise you to be in a place I do not know of for the next five hours while I do so. I must not know where you are in case I fail", Watari said loyally. L leapt of his seat.

"Chief Yagami, Matsuda, please return to your homes. Watari, I leave the gang members to you. I will go into hiding and attempt to contact you tomorrow. Mayra, you said you're staying in this hotel, so you may return to your room", L seemed normal to any other person, but I got the feeling he was worried. He had never been outside by himself. he probably knew how the world worked better than anyone but when it came to public interaction I had my doubts.

"No, I'll some with you Ryuzaki. They are looking for one person, not two. There's no way I'm missing this much action", I smirked. Watari looked at me disapprovingly, but I could see the hint of relief in L's face.

"Alright then, everybody start."

He then turned to me, "May, where would be a good place with lots of people to go to at this time?"

"A restaurant of course. It's a Saturday night they'll be lots of people in every restaurant. Matsuda can come with us too if he want. His profile says he's a good shot with a gun and he can be of use in case they look for us." The answer came easily to me. That's where I spent a lot of my Saturday nights with friends anyways. Matsuda agreed. He already looked the part in his office wear.

Watari left the room, taking a pistol out of his belt. L put his laptop, cell phone and a wallet into a while bag and put it over his shoulder. I took my purse and retrieved the cell phones Watari had taken away earlier. Then we made our way out.

I had gotten the wrong impression about L from the anime. It seemed he could, in fact, walk upright just a little more slouched that the average person, it just seemed to take him constant effort. Other than that, he walked fast. He had slipped on a pair of white sneakers without any socks before we'd left. I could barely keep up in my delicate platform heels but I made sure I didn't lag behind. We checked out of the hotel after climbing down two flights of stairs. I swore I saw him look worriedly at my heels once. After that I was the one walking fast. I'd run for the bus many times before in stilettos. This wasn't too hard.

When we exited the hotel, the sky was already dark.

I took out my iPhone and check urban spoon for the nearest western restaurant. When I found one I showed it to L and Matsuda and they agreed. It wasn't too fancy but the type of restaurant you would expect any group of teenagers to be going to.

The night sky was amazing in Japan. Stars flickered wherever I looked. I didn't have enough time to sight-see but I found it beautiful. Suddenly I saw Matsuda try to approach me so I walked slower and let L lead the way.

"Mayra, are you a member of this organization Ryuzaki's part of?" Matsuda asked.

"No I can assure you that I'm not. I'm just a network hacker who wanted to find Kira and here I am", I gave him a little smile. He was taller than I had though. Around 5 foot 7. The anime had made him out to be a lot shorter.

"Well, welcome to the task force. I just thought it would be nice to say that officially", he smiled back. He seemed nice enough. I wouldn't have expected him to be nice to me so soon.

Dinner was nice. L ordered from the dessert menu all the way through and I glanced at him every now and then to find him deep in though. Matsuda and I ordered normal food and we were mostly engaged in small talk. L added opinions here and there, but didn't talk much. I could tell he was observing the others in the restaurant and how carefree they all seemed. I remembered the ending of the third movie and suddenly I felt a pang of sadness for the unfairness of the world. No one deserved to live a life where they didn't value themselves.

"Are you alright Mayra?" Matsuda asked, noticing my quietness. I nodded and gave him a small smile. We ate as slowly as we could but we finished with much of the night to go. We shared the bill and then left.

The sky was completely dark now. It was probably not safe to be out at this time.

"Ryuzaki, lets check into a hotel. We can wait out the night there", I suggested. He nodded, "I know one around here. Its not very expensive so we won't be suspected of anything there."

I tried to stay inconspicuous as we walked. There were people peering out of buildings and alleys as night life sprung to existence. The bright neon lights of bars, combined with the shine of the moon.

We were caught completely by surprise when a young man dressed in a hooded coat pointed at L and yelled, "You!"

Matsuda immediately took out his gun, pointing it. I stepped out of the way, closer to L, "Ryuzaki, who is he?"

"I believe we have another two additions to our little travel group. Mello, Roger, show yourselves. Matsuda, keep your gun up", he pointed at the man who stepped out from the shadows following the first one.

"I know you are probably suspicious of us right now but please, let us explain. We came here to find you", the older man said.

"Then follow us. I'll check you into the hotel along with us.", L continued walking ahead. I followed and Matsuda kept his gun pointed at the two as he walked.

I kept my astonishment at bay. Mello! And Roger! But why were they here? We suspected Roger of giving important information to the members of 13EX, maybe he was tortured into revealing it? Was he on our side? Why was Mello with him?

I was relieved when we arrived. The night air had been cold and my skirt hadn't done much for warmth. L told Matsuda to check us in and he hurried to comply. We booked two rooms with two beds in each, right across from each other. Our rooms were on the lowest floor so escape was easy in case anything happened.

We all entered one of the rooms and L motioned for us to sit at the two beds. Mello looked exactly as the anime had described. Girlish with short brown hair that had hints of red in it. He kept giving me curious looks and when I caught him, I smirked back.

"Well, we certainly have a dilemma here. Care to explain, Roger?" L sat onto the bed in his normal crouch. Roger seemed to be fidgeting and Mello averted his gaze from mine and Ryuzaki's.

"I had to tell them. It was my responsibility Ryuzaki. They had a few of the kids tied up with them when they came into my office. Right when I had been lecturing Mello. It was my duty as the one running Wammy's House. I couldn't just let them be taken. These kids would be valuable assets for them to use. Their leader came up and put a knife at Mello's neck. When I didn't respond quick enough he dug it in and I though he was dead. Mello's an insufferable brat but I was his caretaker and I had to make sure he came out safe." At this Mello snarled quietly but didn't interrupt.

"I gave them all the information I knew. Luckily they were bent on finding you and left as soon as they'd gotten all they could from me. We took Mello to a hospital. I told my secretary to take the other kids into hiding until further notice. I tried to reach you as soon as possible and so I came here. Mello wouldn't leave me alone when he discovered there was a chance I would meet 13EX. He says he wants revenge. There were only nine of them."

Ryuzaki was pondering this, thumb in mouth. "I believe you then. Watari and his associates are taking care of the gang right now. We are going to go back to headquarters tomorrow after making sure everything is all right. For now, we'll stay in this hotel. I have work to do and so I will not be needing a bed. Goodnight everyone."

Roger went to his own room and Matsuda slipped under the covers of his bed, but Mello stayed. He was giving me strange looks. I remembered his tough guy attitude in the anime and hoped I hadn't done anything to attract attention.

"You're M aren't you?" He asked me.

"No I'm not but Ryuzaki has informed me that if I get on his good side I will be", I replied, swinging my legs back and forth across the side of the bed. Mello didn't seem satisfied with my answer.

"If you're not M then who are you? I've never seen you before", he tilted his head to one side.

"I'm just a hacker. I'm here because I want to catch Kira." I replied carelessly.

"Mello, this is Mayra Amara. She is working with me on the Kira case." Ryuzaki said absentmindedly, eyes still glued to laptop.

"Wait, you're May! Matt told me about you once. He chatted online with you about something once. I think he worked with you. His codename was "technogoggles612". Do you know him?" Mello seemed suddenly interested. He pulled out a bar of chocolate and snapped it of in his mouth.

"Yeah I remember. We were both hacking the same system at the same time and I spend a few minutes chatting with him", I realized, surprised, that I had actually known Matt before all of this.

"Please go to sleep, both of you. I wish to work in peace", Ryuzaki finally said. I looked awkwardly at my bed, and then at my skirt. Luckily, Mello came to my rescue.

"Do you mind sleeping in a loose shirt, May? Roger told me to pack a lot, and I've got one to lend you", Mello offered, snapping another piece of chocolate of the bar.

"thank you very much Mello, I'd like that", in a sudden moment, I felt all the newcome excitement in my life and felt like purring with satisfaction. I smiled at him. This time it reached my eyes.

I finished changing in the bathroom, and slipped under the covers, my happy feeling still with me. I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Unfortunately it didn't last long, I woke up seeing darkness all around me and long, cold fingers wrapped around my mouth.

**I'll have the next chapter up sometime before next monday i think. **


	5. Taken Away

_Here's the next one. Thank you all again for your reviews. I think I'm going to start adding stuff to my profile now. I've been a big fan of deathnote for a year. When last year one of my friends made me watch it when i said i was considering being a detective and i totally loved it. L was always my fav character, i'd sit there watching each episode trying to figure out what would happen whenever he tested Light. and yes, Light is going to be coming back in a while. All of this is still before he's brought into the task force._

_if you would like me to reply to review, you guys can request it and i'll be happy to do so._

**Chap 5**

I felt myself about to yell, but a part of me realized that the fingers smelled faintly of strawberry. I sat up slowly.

"Shh, move very quietly. I received an emergency call from the button on Watari's belt, and I looked out the window and just saw someone enter the building. Can you hack into the building's security cameras?" L was leaning over my bed with his laptop balanced in one hand. I wiped the tiredness out of my eyes with a hand and took the laptop. L was perched on the edge of the bed while I worked. I'd never hacked a signal like this before but L's technology was seriously advanced. I took five minutes experimenting before I tried intercepting the signal. It asked for a confirmation number and I plugged in the USB I kept in my purse. I'd already programmed a password trial program into it that worked in most security systems. It worked. L leaned over trying to see.

The one I had hacked showed our hallway, like L had requested. There were two men walking toward Mello and Roger's room. One of them was carrying a large, thick brown suitcase. Maybe they're just hotel customers, I told myself. My doubts were erased when I saw them stop in front of the door. L went over and shook Matsuda awake. Then I saw him take out a cell and call Roger awake.

Matsuda took his gun out of the jacket he had left on a chair and pointed it at the door when he saw the laptop screen. I heard a faint scratching noise at the door and silently closed the laptop.

"L!", I whispered, "the window!"

"Yes, of course. Lead the way, please. I'm afraid I can't see a thing in this darkness. Matsuda, put a block near the door and follow us." L started putting his laptop back into the white bag. I went ever to my clothes in the bathroom and slipped my skirt on under the loose shirt from Mello. I put my shoes in my purse, they were too high heeled to run in. Then I took my bag and climbed out the window slowly. Even though we were on the first floor, there was still a little drop. Little as in my height. I jumped once off the brick wall of the outside and then down to the grass, barefoot. I got a little shock in my knees for a second that told me I had jumped to far. L climbed out right after me, looking down and judging the height before jumping straight down adeptly.

Matsuda's head peered through the window and I gave him an ok sign. He climbed out, closing the window after him when L gestured for him to do so. Unfortunately he didn't have as much balance and collapsed as soon as he hit the ground. I helped him up.

"May, lead us to the back of the hotel. That's where we are meeting Roger and Mello." L whispered. I nodded and navigated through the pitch black of the night.

"What happened!" Roger asked as soon as we exited the building. L put a finger to his lips in a sign to be quiet. Mello snarled, "they're back aren't they? Where are the bastards!"

"They were right outside our your door. We don't know how they managed to find us", I briefed them. He looked warily back toward the hotel. L walked a few steps of and stuck his thumb in his mouth. I walked up to him.

"What do you think, Ryuzaki?"

"Shh, I need to think. Mello…I almost have it. How they knew our location…" He said abstractly. I furrowed my eyebrows and thought about what he meant…something grazed the edge of my mind again. I could see a connection, I just didn't know what connection it was.

Mello…he had been taken hostage by one of the men…I tried to replay how the scene would have looked like in my head. Roger sitting behind his desk at Wammy's house. Mello sitting opposide him in a chair, brought to his office because he'd gotten into trouble again. The man asking Roger L's real name…

Roger said when he didn't reply fast enough…when he didn't reply fast enough…

That was it!

When he didn't reply fast enough they dug the knife into his neck! Mello's neck! That was it! No one would be that quick to attempt to kill hostage, even if there were others around. Maybe they would cut off a finger, but never risk killing the hostage before they attained the information they'd come for. That would only mean there was another significance in slitting his throat with the knife. It could only mean one thing.

I turned to see L looking at me curiously.

"Are you thinking the same thing?" I inquired. He nodded briefly, "Mello, come over here please."

Mello walked over suspiciously. I took out my purse and rummages through it, looking for something sharp.

"Turn around and show me where they cut you when they held you hostage", L instructed. Mello turned around and lifted the back of his hair, showing us the thick scar that had come to be because of the slit.

"I can't find anything sharp Ryuzaki!" I complained. We looked at each other for a second and then turned towards Matsuda.

"Matsui, you have a pocket knife with you don't you? We have need of it", l put his hand out toward him and Matsuda dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a Swiss army knife, snapping it open in one gesture. The anime really hit the mark with him, he may be careless and stupid, but he was an excellent shot.

Mello stepped away as soon as he saw the knife being handed to L.

"What are you planning! Don't take that thing anywhere closer to me if you don't want to die!" He backed away farther.

"Think, Mello. Why did he cut the back of your throat? Why did he injure you in the first place? It was unnecessary. There's something else about this", I told him softly. Realization hit his eyes and I could see him mentally steeling himself. L held out his hand and he stepped forward.

"Turn around. May, please hold his skin taunt. This might hurt a little", he said slowly. Mello turned his back to him and pulled his hair out of the way. He looked down, exposing the back of his neck.

L took the knife and held it as if it were a pencil. I put my fingers on either side of the scar as he slowly slit it open along the scar lines. I was lucky I wasn't squeamish around blood, it opened easily seeing as it was an existing wound. Roger and Matsuda were watching us with poorly concealed horror. I pulled the sides open farther, exposing the flesh of his neck, as L turned the knife to it's blunt side and swept it across the inside of the cut, looking for it. Mello gave out a few tiny whimpers, trying not to scream at the pain. The neck had way too many neurons, and we were operating dangerously close to his medulla oblongata.

Finally, the knife caught on something. L dug it in a little farther an twisted it upward, revealing the tiny circular metal device. He gestured to me, his hands being full, and I reached in with my other hand and removed the tracking device. Matsuda gasped as I brought it out. Once it was freed I crushed it in my hand.

L immediately asked for cloth and Roger tore the bottom of his shirt up into strips and handed them to him one at a time and he bound them around Mello's neck. The blood kept leaking through until the sixth layer.

"Well, we're free of that now. We need to find Watari. If even he could not defeat these men, we can not even dream of it", L decided.

"Well, he seems to have defeated seven of them. The nine of them traveled together", Roger stated.

"We're not running from them damn it! We need to find them so I can beat the shit out of them! No one can just decide to insert a tracker into my neck!" Mello seemed infuriated. I didn't blame him.

Unfortunately, we were too late. Before L could rebut it, I felt rough gloves pulling my hands together behind my back, the same happening to L. Matsuda took out his gun and inserted his finger into the trigger but the man who held L brought a gun up to his head, silently telling him to put his gun down.

"So this is the great detective L, huh? You don't look like much", the man who was holding my hand together behind my back turned to face L, "and you're the little girl who hacked into the hotel's security camera signals." I scowled.

"Please tell me what you want with us", L said calmly.

"Oh we don't want anything. We'll do all the work ourselves. We're going to expose the greatest faceless man this world has known. I'm a big fan of yours L, and I love to spread the pleasure of finally meeting you", the man's smile said otherwise. Roger looked at a loss.

Suddenly I felt my hands being released and I was pushed away into the ground. I looked up to see Mello grinning and holding a gun that looked like Matsuda's to the head of the man was had held me captive.

"I remember, it was you. You were the bastard who dared put a knife to my neck! And you", he addressed the other man holding L, " let go of him so we can all play a little game together.

Contempt ran through his voice but right then I could have kissed him.

"Sorry brat, we aren't interested in your games. Shoot him if you want, more fame for me", the other man pushed the gun closer to L's neck.

"Con, you idiot! Put the damn gun down, the brat's gone crazy", fear rung in his voice as the man looked up toward Mello was holding him hostage.

"Not a chance in hell, mate", he folder L's arms behind him and started to turn, taking L with him. Mello snarled and I gave him a wary glance, getting up from where I had fallen.

"Mello, take care of number one here", I whispered to him as the other man walked away with L, "ill make sure Ryuzaki gets back. He's probably got some plan after all. He seemed too calm."

Mello nodded and I started after L's captor. Matsuda creeped after me. I had half a mind to tell him to stay back but I knew how stubborn he could be. A black minivan came into sight ahead in the hotel's parking lot and the two silhouettes got into it. L was going too easily, I knew he had a plan.

"Do you want a car?" I heard Roger's voice behind me and turned quickly. I processed the question for a while and then nodded. Roger went over to a sleek black car as soon as the minivan had left and took out a silver device from his pocket. It took him about a minute to get the lock to pop up, then he opened the other doors and we stepped in. I took the front and Matsuda took the back seats.

"This will only take a few minutes", Roger said as he took out a flat-headed screwdriver and removes the tiny screws in the panel under the steering wheel. Then he used the screwdriver to pry off the panel and expose the ignition cylinder and the battery and starter wires. He paused here, and bit his lip. Matsuda handed him a tiny pair of scissors and he looked back in gratitude, using the scissors to cut the wires from the cylinder. He made small cuts in them to expose the copper wire inside them and connected them by twisting them together. Then he cut the starter wires and did the same with them. The lights and radio system in the car sprung to life as I watched in fascination, noting everything he was doing for future reference.

"Good thing this car's kind of old", he sighed, "you learn a lot from living with a house of geniuses." He pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed in the same direction as the minivan. It was still visible in the distance, driving on a relatively flat road.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked me as he drove, "Mello is back there with the other one, he's tied him to a tree and is trying to get information out of him."

I though about it, I didn't want to disrupt L's plan, so I supposed I'd have to approach him when he was away from the captor and ask him what he was planning.

They stopped at a small house, brightly lit. We paused near the end of the crescent in the residential area where they wouldn't see us.

"I'm going to ask L what he's planning and see if I can help", I replied to Roger, "stop here, ill go and try to get L to reply to a message. I'll be back in a little while", I stepped out of the car and walked down the sidewalk, hands in my pockets.

When I arrived at the house, I peered through the window, L was tied up and sitting on a couch while the captor, Con, was speaking on the phone with his back turned to him. I waved a little. L didn't turn to look at me fully but acknowledged my presence by watching me through the corner of his eye and nodding slightly. I slowly signed to him with my hands in traditional English sign language, exaggerating every letter.

_U hav plan_

The sign language I'd learned was the alphabet one, so it was painstakingly long to sign the message. When I was done he nodded slightly. Of course he had a plan. That much was obvious.

_Do I wait_

I hoped he would translate it like I had meant, do you want me to wait? He nodded again, and gestured with his eyes toward the man on the phone. I nodded to show my understanding and crept away. I reached the side of the house and propped one foot up on the fireplace output, lifting myself up. Since it was an old house, it had holes in the brick that I could grasp for support. I pulled myself up all the way until I reached the soft black shingles of the roof. Then I went over to the old chimney and peered in as far as I could without falling. It took a while but soon I heard a voice.

"yeah, I got him...didn't tell anyone but you o'course…yeah well how bout we make that a fifty-fifty huh?...oh fine…they're all dead, but who care's…come on over, he's right here all tied up…"

So that's what L was planning. He wanted to make sure this other person who knew his identity was caught as well. I climbed back down and walked back to the car, a plan of my own already forming.

**Five chapters! A total of 22 pages in micro word. next one coming soon! **

**review if you have time! it sparks my creativity. Along with chocolate...**


	6. Just One Mistake

**Here's the next chapter guys. I've been really busy with school since last Saturday and i couldn't type out anything but the workload's decreased since the Christmas Break is almost here (!). I typed this all up today really fast so i apologize in advance for any mistakes. I'm told i have the tendency to accidently type connecting words and pronouns in french since it's my first language, and micro word won't correct them for some reason. Enjoy!**

**reply to review asking if there will be future pairings:**

**I think the only thing i can say is maybe. I don't want to take L out of his character, ****especially when he has such a great character. He doesn't seem like the type for romance. I'm thinking of putting him in a pairing anyway but so far i want to see how it goes like this. There will be pairings if the story feels like it.**

**Chapter 6**

When I reached the car, Matsuda and Roger were bursting to ask me what had happened.

"There's someone else. Someone else who knows L's identity. We don't know who it is, but he's coming back to the house pretty soon. All I know for now is that L has a plan. I plan to come back here in a while and see if I can help him out. For now, we need to go see Mello's hostage", I climbed into the car and gestured for Roger to drive.

The black car sped down the road, Roger understanding my sense of urgency. I needed to do this fast. I had to get back to the house with L's captor before the other person did. If my guess was right, L would literally be sold if I didn't. He wanted to me to do something to help, if only I could figure out what it was.

I grabbed my purse and took out my laptop. The one I had brought with me was a Mac book pro. To be honest I couldn't resist, it was the most beautiful piece of technology I had ever had. Matsuda watched, interested, as I ran my hands over it before opening it, like it were made of the softest fur. When I opened it, I ran my hands over the keys and touchpad before starting it and waiting for it to load. It was so nice to touch my laptop again after the days of interrogation. I knew I was being strange, but I was an addict to technology. How easy computers were, so simple minded and straightforward, unlike most people who spent every moment of their life keeping secrets.

"You…um…like laptops?" he asked, finally.

I almost laughed at his awkward vocabulary, "I was brought up by a network analyst and a software engineer. I'm prone to think there are few people in the world who would die without their laptops but I'm one of them."

When it showed my screen background, a scene of a castle overlooking mountains, I immediately opened safari and typed in the address of the house we had just been in. After a little searching, I found it on Google maps and clicked in street view. Just as I had suspected, it was very different looking. This imaging had been updated only weeks ago, yet the house looked so much more different. On street view, the house had magnolias in the front. There were flower baskets hanging off the top of the porch and a hint of white lace curtains. The house I had come from didn't have any curtains, and the flowers in the garden didn't seem like they were watered for ages. The gang was only staying in the house for a while. They would be taking L somewhere. I needed to stop them from leaving the house.

When we reached the hotel Roger took me to the room L, Matsuda and I had. Mello was waiting inside, gun pointed to the captive's head. When the man saw us, he seemed outwardly relieved.

"Good, you're back. Please, we can sort this out, this boy is outta his mind…he's gonna shoot me…" we could hear the evident fear in his voice and I supposed that meant Mello had been talking to him. I went over and sat in the chair opposite to him.

"We can negotiate that. Answer all my questions and I'll let you go as long as it's in my power", I smiled there. It was a false promise that I could tell confidently. I had no power what-so-ever on him. It was all L's decision. L would put him in jail and I could tell him I had mentioned 'as long as it's in my power'. Fortunately, he seemed satisfied with the idea of getting away from Mello and didn't pay any close attention.

"Whatever, I'll tell you anything you want just take him away. I don't have any reason to stop that bastard Con from getting captured", his shoulders relaxed a little.

"What are you planning to do with L?"

He smirked, I felt a tinge of irritation but kept my pleasant smile.

"We were planning to sell him, his identity, and the proof of it".

Typical. The next question would answer much more.

"How did you know how to find out L's identity? How did you know Roger was related to him?"

"We didn't know in the beginning. But then a man named Watari came after us. We thought he was just another agent sent to expose us, so we found him, in Japan, and hacked into his laptop to find out how much he knew. This was about three days ago. Then we found another file. It was highly protected and even typed out in a code. The security on it was so high we couldn't even load it onto a jump drive. I'm not sure what our tech-guy did cause I didn't like him very much and kept my distance from hi, but he opened it. He took photographs of the file and we took it back to Britain to analyze. It could've been something extremely valuable if it had that level of protection on it."

I suddenly got a chill. There was a voice in my head…and I wanted it gone. I told myself that it could never happen. That the virus I had installed into opening it without consent and a password had worked. He went on.

"So our tech-dude worked on it for hours and finally said he gave up. But our boss wouldn't let him. He said the moment he gave up was the moment he would die. He was scared to death so he kept working on it. When he finally unraveled the code it was written in, we all knew it was a jackpot. You wouldn't believe it, it had everything.

"L's real name,

"His location at certain times

"His past

"Even predictions of what would happen in his life in the future."

I almost collapsed. I managed to sit down slowly and look like I was processing the information. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid…

Watari had taken my laptop when I was interrogated by L. He must've opened the file and bypassed my virus. The file that I had typed out with all the times, dates and information I remembered from death note…

He put in some type of code…and he hadn't shown L. I knew he hadn't shown L. There was no way L would agree to work with me if he ever saw it. Watari would've kept the file to ask me about it later.

And now I didn't even know where he was.

That's why it was all happening. These events that weren't a part of the original series. In the anime, Watari had probably found and taken care of these men as part of a job. Before L ever knew they existed. Because I was here, they found the file…it was all because of me.

"We found the same man, Watari, when we entered the place. He shot down seven of us but we managed to get him. He's alive by the way, in the suitcase Con has right now."

I snapped back to reality at that. Now Watari's life was on the line as well. And L probably didn't know that. I had to get there quickly.

Roger looked at me strangely when I asked to go back to the house where L was. The wildness I felt was showing in my eyes, I could feel it. But there was nothing to do about it now. Matsuda came with me again. We rushed out to the car which was still running, and started as soon as I got in.

We arrived and parked in the other crescent. Matsuda and I ran out of the car onto the sidewalk and rushed over to the house, Roger stayed in the car. I had borrowed his shoes so my feet wouldn't kill me. We had just disappeared in the back when another car pulled up into the driveway.

I had a plan. I needed to release Watari.

"Matsuda, find a way in. I don't really care how dramatic is it and how much attention we'll get but just find a way in while they're in the driveway and can't hear us."

He stared at me dumbly for a few seconds.

"Break the damn window you idiot", I fumed. It was unlike me, but there was little time. He went red with embarrassment but complied, taking out his gun and smashing the window with it. It was an old house with no re-enforced glass, so it broke easily.

I stepped in, not caring about the glass pieces, and ran to the living room where L was tied up. He turned and looked at me curiously, but I held a finger to my mouth for a second and then rushed upstairs. When I turned around I saw Matsuda looking at me questioningly.

"Stay hidden for a while in a place you can hear what's said in the living room. Don't let anyone find you", I whispered harshly from the overview on the second floor in the house. Then I looked through the bedrooms. There were four of them. I figured it wouldn't take too long to locate such a large item, and I was right. It was in the wardrobe in the third bedroom. The suitcase.

I wondered why a store would make a suitcase this big. It was almost as big as me. I looked around for something heavy and found an iron. I smashed it into the lock of the suitcase as it snapped open with the sound of broken metal. I pried it open with the back end of a pen, and then with my hands. When it finally opened, I saw Watari placed curled up inside.

His eyes were open and he was blinking. His mouth was taped shut and his hands were tied with duct tape. I undid the duct tape and he took the tape off his mouth.

"You!" he looked at me with anger. Of course. He though I was working with the men who kidnapped L.

"I would sit here and give you the entire story but L is down there and they're about to sell him." I said quickly. Understanding came into his eyes, but the suspicion still remained.

"How did you know all of that? The information on the file?"

It was the question I had been dreading. Finally here. I needed to answer it if I wanted Watari's help. I wondered what kind of story I could make up, and then decided to settle on the best one.

The truth.

I knew I was being stupid. But it was a spur of the moment. If I had more time I could work my magic with words and tell him a story that would account for every single thing. If I had more time I could negotiate with him on it. If I only had more time.

"You won't believe me, but I have to tell you the truth here because I can't think of a good lie", I started out.

"I don't know how this all happened, but L, and the Kira case. I used to have a book that's storyline copied exactly what is happening now. I don't have it anymore, and it's destroyed, but it was everything that is happening now. In the form of a story. A story about a student who came into possession of the powers of Kira. And about the detective L who fought with him to deliver justice. And then this all happened and I was so curious. I wanted to know if it was all real. Just like the story."

I looked at him straight in the eyes and remembered to hold my palms open to show honesty and not hide them. It wasn't the full truth but it would have to do. Maybe he would think it was a book written by a future-teller. He processed it for a while, and then nodded.

"You've made it clear that there is no time to elaborate. Are you sure this book is completely destroyed?"

"Yes", I nodded harshly. Then I explained the situation downstairs to Watari.

"…no one else knows. If we can get rid of these two men, or at least take them hostage, L's identity will be safe", I finished. He nodded again, "there's no other way them. We'll take the direct approach. Take L out of here. I'll ask Matsuda to help me with the other one. You and L need to get out of here."

I nodded an affirmative and we both went downstairs quietly.

The next few seconds weren't remembered very well by me. I remembered Watari yelling, and Matsuda standing next to him holding his gun to shoot. I remembered frantically untying L as the commotion went on behind me. The captors had been taken by surprise. My hands were shaking as I undid the tape and ropes, but I kept a calm look. No one should have known how utterly confused I was. Especially not L. When I was done he sprang to his feet and held my arm in a vise-like grip as we ran out of the house. Even once we were out I kept running. Until the second we reached the black car where Roger, and safety, was waiting.

Roger opened the door for us in the back and we immediately got in.

"I'll take you two to the hotel first and come back for them", he said, understanding what was happening.

I realized then that I had messed up whatever plans L had. It was also a blow to my pride that I didn't find a way to incorporate them.

"Ryuzaki", I began, "I'm incredibly sorry for all the inconvenience I may have caused. I know you had something in mind…" I stopped there. Roger gave me a strange look through the center mirror, as if the hero shouldn't be apologizing to the rescued. Only I knew that it was much more than that.

L however, smiled a small, strange smile.

"Forget about it, May. Lets go back, I think I might finally be able to obtain a few hours of sleep", he settled back into his seat.

"But I ruined everything!" I protested. I wondered why he didn't agree.

"This is done with May. Tomorrow, Light Yagami will be joining us in the investigation. We need to get back on track", he smiled the smile again.

We continued to drive back in the dark, the neon lights of clubs and restaurants being the only brightness, combined with the streetlamps and the small stream of moonlight. Even though we were going fairly fast, I though I saw something then. I saw a young man standing by a park bench off to the side of the road. A young man with chestnut, silk hair that shone as if only the moonlight could reach it. His dark eyes showed hints of amusement and mirth, as if there was someone standing with him, or behind him. His long, slender silhouette made a thin shadow of himself draped over the bench.

In that brief glimpse, I saw his long, thin fingers twirl a silver pen, and in the other hand was a book. A book with a pitch black cover. It was thin, but there was an infinity of pages in it. Pages that could kill.

I almost instinctively knew that if you were to turn that book around, it would say

_Death Note_

In that moment, the sense of worry I had kept all rushed back to me.

**Sorry it's kind of short. Next one should be up sometime soon because of the Christmas Break being close and no schoolwork (except holiday projects). The story is going to include Light now, him and Misa are coming in. I guess you could call it a new arc. This arc was inspired by the movie L, Change the World. It's a really great movie and all death note fans will love it. **

**Review please! Every morning when i wake up and check my mail on my ipod, i feel really inspired when i have mail with fanfiction reviews. I originally started writing to improve my writing skills (how are they btw?) but i really like thinking of new ideas for chapters now. **

**I wasn't expecting many before because the story was only two or three chapters long but it's a developing story now, and it needs to be fed with reviews. Not to mention my brain needs to be fed too...**


	7. Losing Control

**I'm up with the next chapter! Thank you for all your reviews, i love you guys to pieces. I'm really proud of myself now cause i typed this one up in 45 minutes. The skill, i think, came from my expertise in BSing essays.**

**Reply to review by Hawkbelly: omg i am so flattered! ****I'm actually 14 and in grade 9 (i put it up on my profile) but it's nice to think my writing's as good as a 20-year-old. You really made my day twice over when i read that review...**

**anyway, i have a lot more time to write now that the Christmas holidays are here. ******

Joyeux Noël everyone! I'm out in the daytime but i can stay up as late as i want and not worry about school! I'm going on a ski trip somewhere next week though, and visiting my grandparents in Quebec on the way back. There's going to be gap there.

**Chapter 7**

I twirled my pen anxiously in my hands, waiting. Ryuzaki sat at his laptop with a plate of cake. It was the morning after our incident and I had come back to the investigation HQ after going to my suite for the rest of the nights' sleep. I had been worried about being late when I woke up but I still took the time to dress casually but neatly in dark skinny jeans and a loose blue plaid button-up top, paired with blue flats with bows on the front.

The only ones here this early except for me were Aizawa, Ukita and Mogi, drinking coffee and sorting out Kira's latest murders. I had no interest in files, they were police business. They would tell us if they found something. Ryuzaki was at his laptop typing away at an email, a plate of cake beside him.

I was waiting because today was the day the Chief would bring his son here.

This was the day Misa would send her message.

The day Light was going to join the investigation.

To be honest I was excited beyond belief. I didn't necessarily like him, in fact I could say that I was against him. But there was the challenge whenever I saw him. My life had been brought down to the level of mere satisfaction because someone like him was never around. There had been no one to beat, no one to give me a proper challenge. Of course Lena was always there, but she was a friend. I didn't feel right trying to beat her. We tied in almost everything. Still, I needed someone like Light in my life to keep it interesting.

"May, I doubt any new information will come to me in the next three hours as we wait for Light Yagami to arrive. Would you prefer to play a game of chess to pass the time?" Ryuzaki turned his chair around and looked at me questioningly.

"Sure", I got up and set the glass chess table in one corner of the room. L came over and sat in the chair opposite me. I picked up two pawns and L chose the one in my left hand. It was black. I was making the first move.

I picked up my queen's pawn and moved it up two squares, placing it softly on the board. I knew a friend who loved jamming the pieces down, saying it was more intimidating, but I knew it was the opposite. The quiet genius-type was much more intimidating than the aggressive opponent. L followed with his queen's pawn as well.

"Queen's gambit?" I asked.

"Yes, the accepted variation if you wish. I rather like it." He replied monotonously. I nodded and proceeded with c4 and he captured it smoothly. I continued with the line and opened my bishop to take the pawn while he brought his knight out.

We got into an interesting endgame. I ended up with a rook and he had a bishop and a pawn. I only started to get worried here. Even though he had less material, he had more potential on the board and since I was positively horrible at endgames, we ended up in a forced tie by repetition which I created.

"Why did you go for the repetition May? You could have taken a bishop in time", he questioned. I shrugged.

"I'm not that good at endgames. I prefer the middle where everything in locked and the first person to free the center gains the advantage. It's much more interesting like that for me", I explained.

That was the moment we heard the beep that signaled someone had entered. My hand automatically went up to adjust my hair, which was in a high ponytail.

Chief Yagami entered first and Light followed. When he stepped in, the first person he saw was L. He looked at him curiously.

"Ryuuga-san from To Oh university? Are you part of the investigation? Actually I wouldn't be surprised if you were L himself", Light flashed a brilliant smile. Then he turned and noticed me lounging comfortably on the couch.

"And Amara-san too? Now I don't know which one of you it is", he said again. Good naturedly. I gave him a small wave.

"Unfortunately it's not me. I'll let L introduce himself to you", I said. Ryuzaki stood up and walked over.

"Hello again Yagami-san. I am L. I have been looking forward to having you on the investigation team. You may call me Ryuzaki here as it is my current alias." He put his hands in his pockets and I could see Light was hesitating to offer his hand for a handshake. He seemed to decide not to.

"Pleasure to work with you them Ryuzaki. Just Light will do", his smile got even brighter somehow.

"You may start by acquainting yourselves with the other members of the task force here. Then I'll need your analysis on something…" L went on. I put the pen I was holding to my lips and began to ponder the cycle of events. Tomorrow was the day Misa would broadcast her message as Kira, which means everything was back on timing again. Only this time Light was being introduced to the task force much earlier. I suspected that my suspiction of light drove L to take action faster.

Ukita would also die tomorrow. I wondered if I should intervene. Normally the answer would be yes, I could save his life. But would that change things too much? It would…

Ukita's death had told L that the second Kira could kill with just a face. This was valuable information for the investigation. I would just have to wait until tomorrow and see what happened.

The task force seemed to like Light more than me. They were indifferent to me at most, but they adored Light. He worked on the filing with them, while I regarded paperwork below me. I couldn't help it, it just seemed so boring. But Light was willing to put up with it just to gain their respect, and I could see he was having a hard time. Occasionally hints of annoyance crept into his eyes as he had his nose buried in criminal death files. I didn't really mind not being liked by the task force. I already had the deep admiration of Matsuda because of my quick thinking during the 13EX incident, and L found me valuable. I had the notion Light had taken a liking to me too. He seemed to respect the fact that I could prove myself to L without having to resort to the police work the others were doing. Around lunchtime Matsuda, Aizawa and Ukita were called to the police headquarters for something urgent and Mogi was helping L with something. Light came over to me, sitting on my couch and developing a virus that made a screen pop up saying "FACE THE POWER! MWAHAHA" out of pure boredom. He smiled when he saw me debug it.

"Having fun?" He asked with a smile.

"indefinitely", I replied.

He sighed and looked around, "Amara-san does L ever actually eat?"

"You can call me May, and of course he eats. His diet is just slighter more different than ours", we both watched as L scooped a spoonful of cake into his mouth.

"Well I don't know how you manage. I'm starving", Light complained.

"If you're going out to eat now I'll come with you, I'm starving too", I closed my laptop and shoved it in my purse, standing up, "hopefully you know somewhere to eat around here because my knowledge is limited to the tourist pamphlet."

He laughed, "of course! Would you prefer traditional Japanese meal or something more western?"

I wondered a little, "Western please. I'm craving Italian a lot right now." I already knew someone like him would know restaurants that specialized in anything even here in Japan.

Ryuzaki didn't ask us anything as we left. That probably meant he trusted me with monitoring Light. I smiled inwardly.

The sun was high up in the sky when we made our way out. It was the middle of august and warm in the daytime here. The restaurant Light lead me to was a small but neat place close to a large plaza. I decided that I liked it immediately and took note of the address. The waiter took us to a small table for two.

I ordered a plate of penne pasta that came topped with a luxurious amount of cheese and Light ordered panini.

"May, were you always working with L?" he asked subtlety.

"No, I just met him." I answered briefly, toying with a piece of pasta.

"Really? Impressive, you seem to have his trust already", he commented.

"yeah, just his", I admitted, "the others don't like me very much, expect for Matsuda."

"I noticed, why?" He looked genuinely interested here.

"I don't do paperwork for them"

"Ah…"

We both laughed at this. Spending time with him wasn't so bad. We finished off our food and waited for the waiter to come back around.

"May, do you sometimes…think against what you're working for?" he asked. His head was lowered and he was staring at the table so I suspected he was going to try to gain my sympathy for something. I cocked my head to one side, "What do you mean Light?"

"About…Kira. I know I'm working with L now to catch him…but crime rates have seriously started to go down", he looked up here, "not that I'd ever be on Kira's side…but sometimes I think of what I would do if I had Kira's power…if killing criminals really is a good thing for the fate of our world."

I wanted to applaud him for his beautiful speech and emotion. That was one of my flaws, I couldn't help admire the talents of my enemies instead of hating them. I rested my head on my hand and leaned forward.

"Light, if I had Kira's power I know exactly what I would do with it, and it wouldn't be killing criminals. If I had Kira's power…I would give it to someone who owed their life to me…", I said very seriously, "…and then I'd make them kill anyone who pissed me off. Therefore, in the end, I wouldn't be a killer", I broke into a huge smile here to show I was just joking and we both laughed again.

"You're definitely one of the brighter crayons in the box, May. I can see why you're on the investigation. And it's not to sort papers", he said this genuinely enough for me to be flattered.

"Just don't let your father hear that or we're both going to kicked out", I told him in a heated whisper, smiling. Not bad at all. In the end I knew I would always be on L's side, and that I'd expose Light if I had enough proof, but for now…

The waiter came back to our table and I saw him wink subtlety at Light before collecting our payment and leaving.

"No need to be shy Light, you can give him your number. I don't mind people who lean that way", I teased, "I mean just take a look at your last name."

He smirked, "I think he meant _you_ with that wink May. I assure you I do, in fact stand straight." He paused for a moment here and stopped walking, looking deep in thought.

"Oh shit…" He muttered a moment of silence later. I burst out laughing as he figured out what I'd meant by mentioning his last name.

The walk back consisted of Light trying to prove he was not on that side of the fence, and me commenting on how beautifully shiny his hair was and how nicely he dressed. Then it revolved around the segregation of gay people and gay rights and the views of society. It was an understatement to say we got strange looks as we walked. People walking past us and hearing snippets of "…coming out of the closet" seemed disturbed. We didn't mind though. I like the intelligent conversation. It was nice to be with a guy who had respectable social skills. He just really wanted me on his side.

When we got back to the investigation headquarters Watari was just leaving to fulfill L's order of desserts.

"Would you like anything May, Light?" Ryuzaki asked us.

"Soft-served ice cream. Strawberry please", I added.

"I'll just take cake. Any kind, there seems to be a lot around here anyway", Light decided.

Watari had kept a safe distance from me every since the incident. I preferred it that way. I had no clue how to further explain. I still regretted my choice a little. Especially since all I had dreamed of last night were the various other things I could have told him instead of the truth.

I dug into my ice cream when it arrived and went over to what L was working on.

"Anything new?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not necessarily…but I'm wondering about something that happened a while ago", he answered.

"What?" I asked, curious.

"The death of the FBI agents that were sent here. Twelve of them were sent here for the Kira investigation, and they all died. The last one to die was a man named Raye Penber. He died at the train station, here is the footage", he opened a file on his laptop and showed me the video footage.

"The envelope", I said, "where did the envelope he was carrying go?" This would probably persuade L to give me further information.

"I noticed that as well. We don't know, but it could've been containing important information. According to the manager of the killed agents, he was never given an envelope like that. And look here…doesn't it seem like he's peering back into the train as he succumbs to the heart attack?"

"Yes, it's almost like Kira himself was on that train…" I said this automatically. As if I were recollecting memories of the anime. L turned and looked at me curiously before going on, "true. It's also interesting to note that Penber was shadowing Light two days before he died. His report on Light was that he was a 'normal, hardworking student with the occasional fling'." Thankfully Light wasn't in the room so we could talk freely.

"That means that if Light isn't Kira, it's someone who knows him well enough to want to frame him", I observed.

"True. Thank you May, I believe you've given me some valuable motivation", L turned back to his computer, "The others have retired for the day. I think I will call our work finished for the day."

"Goodbye then, Ryuzaki", I waved him a goodbye and took by purse, heading out the door. I stepped into the elevator and waited for it to reach my room.

Misa…what did I think of her? The normal response would be stupid…airheaded…but I knew there had to be something more. She had disguised herself impressively in Aoyama, and even slipped past Matsuda to go on her date with the man from Yotsuba. Her devotion to Light was a huge factor here. I instinctively hummed the song she had written for her movie.

_Careful what you do_

_Cause god is watching your every move_

Light was definitely her god. She was different in the way that she would do anything for him. I could understand her thinking slightly. She depended on certain things o survive. She had probably never recovered from the death of her family. She was still living in their memory. The only thing that kept her alive was Kira. And maybe her love for partying and clothes. When she saw Light, she mistook that dependency for love, even though it was much more. I could use that, if I could convince her that I was secretly on Light's side, maybe I could gain and advantage of information for L. Without him knowing, of course. In the end, I didn't really like Misa. Even if she had reasons for her actions, she needed to let go and live her own life to it's potential.

I arrived in my room and sat on my bed, leaving my purse on the side table. I removed my shirt and reached for my pajamas. My hand stopped halfway there and I withdrew it.

_Take my hand in the dark street_

_For if you do I know I'll be safe_

There was this feeling I couldn't ignore. The name was slipping away…that was it. Uneasiness. That was it. About what, I didn't know. About something. I curled up on the bed thinking. What was it? What was I missing? Why did I get the feeling something bad would happen? Why didn't it go away? What was wrong?

I'd met L. I'd met Light. I'd gained the trust of both of them. I was involved in the Kira investigation. I had a goal to keep L alive. It was all going according to plan. It was all perfect.

_Yes_, I told myself as I pulled the blanket over me, not bothering to change out of my jeans.

_It's all perfect._

But I could describe the feeling I had even more clearly now.

It felt like I was losing my control over what was happening.

**Hope you liked it! I regret there wasn't too much to do with the direct plot (you'll probably agree with me if you don't like fillers). There's more action coming soon!**

**I can't believe In This World is already seven chapters! total of 30 micro word pages. **

**Remember how stories need to be fed with reviews?...**


	8. A Little Test

**Thanks again for all the reviews. This is being uploaded in two parts so the next chapter will be uploaded in about 5 minutes (or however long it takes to upload a chapter).**

**I decided on a new arc that will last for about three chapters, read on!**

**Chap 8**

The sound of Mozart's symphony no. 25 in G minor filled my ears.

I slid a hand out of my blankets and picked up my iPhone, sliding the bar to unlock and navigation on the touch screen to stop the alarm without even needing to look. When the music stopped, I threw the blankets off and stepped down, shivering. I realized why I was so cold when I saw I had slept without my top. That, and it was starting to get cold outside. The August breezes were starting to come around.

I took a warm shower and scrubbed the hotel-smelling shampoo into my hair. Only when I stepped out and dressed in a loose turtleneck, overlaying the long neck around my shoulders, and a pair of blue skinny jeans did I realize where I was. This happened every single day, every morning when I woke up. The world just seemed so…normal. The familiar sound of either Mozart or Pachelbel or Chopin playing in my ears when I woke, the sunshine filtered through the curtains, the warm water. It all tricked me into believing it was just another normal day. There was still this fear I had that it would all disappear. The deathnote characters had made my life so interesting. It would truly suck if it all wasn't even real. Though I was sure it was.

I grabbed a different colored purse to match the blue of my top and shoved my laptop and other purse-necessities into it. Then I made my way to Ryuzaki's floor like usual. The entire way there I was still having my inner battle on whether or not to let Ukita die. I knew that If I saved him L would lack an important clue, but maybe Ukita would be of further help in the investigation. And of course, there was the simple morality of saving another human being…

In the end, right before I knocked on L's door, I decided again that I would wait until the moment and let intuition take over for this once.

Ryuzaki waved me a small hello as I entered, "May, hello. Watari has finished making the same security feature that we've made for all the other officers in the team. Watari, she's arrived."

I went over curiously and sat on the couch like I usually did, preparing to spend the day waiting for news and killing time with my laptop. But I wondered what he'd meant by "security feature".

Watari came in holding a small leather band with a silver square set on the front. It looked like someone had taken a belt and shortened it so it became a bracelet. I understood what it was immediately, remembering the anime.

"This bracelet contains a tracking device that will allow is to find you in case you are in danger. In addition, if you press the middle three times within a second, it will transmit a help signal directly to Watari's cell phone. I've already given one to each of the members of the task force, however I would like to request that you do not tell Light about this", Ryuzaki added. I examined it, it wasn't the best fashion statement but it wouldn't look too out of place as an accessory.

"Thank you Ryuzaki, it's really neat", I snapped it onto my wrist and leaned back on the couch, taking my laptop out.

"Anything new?" I asked, just like I did every time. It was a routine now, even though most of the time I knew the answer.

"No, I'm afraid not", he replied solemnly, digging into more cake, "though I was wondering, May, if you would agree to submit to a test of mine today", his fork speared the cake as I turned around to look at him, surprised, "I think it depends on what kind of test this is", I replied. I was worried about missing the news report from Misa if this test took too long. I knew the Kira message would be sent sometime around 6 pm in the evening.

"You see, the others in the task force are slightly…prejudiced against you and Light. Of course, they have yet to witness your reasoning skills, but this, while being of importance to myself as well, may convince them to accept the two of you."

I thought about it, "I think they accept Light just fine."

"Yes but only as a student, they don't rest well with the idea of him joining the task force, and they are strongly opposed to you as well. So?" L looked at me questioningly. I wondered what importance this would be for him, but decided I wouldn't get a proper answer if I asked.

"Fine, I agree. What kind of test is this?"

He leaned back in this chair, "I won't tell you yet, but I'll let you know that you will be working with Light on this. I've already informed him of everything I've told you and he's agreed, as it will lower your Kira percentages considerably. I'd also like to mention that you can give up at any time, and any injuries will be taken care of immediately if deemed dangerous. I assure you, though, that neither of you will die."

At this I sat up straight, suspicious. This didn't sound like one of his harmless reasoning tests. It sounded like something else.

"How long will it take?" I asked, keen on my original worry.

"No matter how well you do, you should be finished by three in the afternoon", he said. I looked at the clock, 9:00…it was still early. I could be done with this.

"I agree to it then. Explain the rest please", I decided.

"Later, May. be patient. We will wait for Light", he turned back to his work. I sighed and typed my password into my laptop to open my user account.

It was around ten o'clock when Light and the others finally arrived. Along with them came a pile of sheets and a small jump drive.

"Ryuzaki! I've found a trend in the deaths", Aizawa came over excitedly with Chief Yagami and Mogi. Matsuda seemed to have no idea what was going on. I watched curiously as they talked heatedly with L.

"Don't bother on it, May. It's nothing. There was no way I could tell my father the trend was just a coincidence without hurting his pride", Light said quietly. I hadn't noticed him sneak up on me, but I didn't show it. He was leaning with both arms on the back of the couch. I turned around and gave him a smile.

"Ever the faithful son, Light."

"Nice, May. Really nice. I just didn't want to hurt his feelings. I think he knows that his dormant brain cells seem to have awakened when passed on to me, but all fathers think they know better than their children", he chuckled.

"You don't need to tell me that twice", I replied, smiling wider, Light was as entertaining as ever, "I heard Ryuzaki already told you about this test we're being put to today."

He flinched, "yes he made it sound like there was a so-and-so percent chance we would die, if you know what I mean. But right now, I'm willing to do anything to prove that I'm not Kira. I need to show Ryuzaki this. I need to make him understand that focusing on me will blind him from so many other possibilities. Only when he stops suspecting me will this investigation grow further."

It was another beautifully delivered speech. It was one of the things I liked about Light, he knew how to use his words, unlike most guys. It was a fact that I would help L, but Light was just so intriguing. How could someone who had a normal family, and typical life turn into someone like him?

"I understand. I think he still suspects me too, though not so much. I'm in this just because he'll probably start giving me percentages if I refuse", I put my laptop away and walked over to L.

"So when is this starting? We're ready", I said, wanting to get it over with. L looked away from the trend graph Aizawa was showing him and stood up, "is that so? Then we'll start. Watari."

The officers looked silently furious at having been interrupted from the presentation of their supposed "amazing findings". L had obviously already seen it as the mere coincidence it was. I had no reason to doubt it if both him and Light decided on the same thing, so I disregarded it too.

Watari entered and gestured for us to follow him. We were lead to the sleek sliver car that he drove, and Light and I sat in the back.

"I suppose both of you are terribly confused right now, am I right?" L didn't turn around to look at us as he spoke, "The test is simple. I only briefly put it together yesterday. I will lead you to a building, an apartment. Your task is to get to the roof of the apartment. The elevators and stairs are all available and there are no public residents living in this apartment. Once you get to the roof, there is a cell phone lying there. It is not hidden, and is lying right in the middle. There will be no other people allowed on the roof. Once you get there, I want you to call Watari's cell phone. You do not need to say anything once you make the call. If he receives the call, I will call your cell phones within the next minute and send Watari to pick you up. That is all", he spoke calmly, as if it was as easy as breathing. But it was the calmness that told Light and I that it was going to be a challenge. In what way? We didn't know.

"But what about-" Light began. But he was cut off.

"No asking questions. You are not allowed to ask me any questions now", the car stopped, showing us that we had reached our destination.

It wasn't a very populated area. There was some construction going on, showing that development was going to be made in the area, but there was only one large grey apartment that looked like it had somewhere around forty floors. It was easy to guess that it was the one we would be using.

L handed us two small black cell phones, "Take one each. If you press the number three and five simultaneously three times within two seconds, I will be called. You can call me only to report an injury that needs immediate treatment, or to say you give up. If you receive a serious injury, we will arrive immediately to take you to the hospital that can be found right down there", he pointed down the road.

"In what situation will we receive-" Light began again.

"No questions Light", L said in a childish sing-song, "good luck, and goodbye", he climbed back into the car, leaving us on the street, clueless.

"Well, I suppose we should start then", I said. I turned around and started walking towards the apartment, Light following close behind.

The apartment had obviously been newly constructed. There was plush carpeting on the floor, and the linoleum tiles looked beautifully polished. We had no problem entering the building. The doors were already open, and the place seemed deserted, as L had assured.

"There's something wrong about this place…" Light said from behind me. His voice sounded so loud in the empty building that I almost jumped. When I turned around, I realized he had observed the same thing.

"It's too loud and echo-filled in here. It's almost like there are secret spaces that add area to this space, allowing the echoes…" he observed. I nodded, "how do you want to get to the top floor?"

"We could take the elevator, but it's too easy to trap. I'd vote for the stairs in this situation", he told me.

"Stairs it is then. Should be somewhere down here", I lead the way down the hallway to the emergency stairs. There were made of the same white material fire-escape stairs were usually made of.

"I think, maybe, this is just a test of reaction, don't you think May?", he asked. I pondered it, "maybe. It's a definite possibility that he's putting us under imaginary danger just to see how we'd react", I smoothed my hair back with a palm, "but it wouldn't be something Ryuzaki would do. If I were him and wanted to find out if you were Kira, I'd put us under real danger, just to see if you would resort to your Kira power. That's what I'm worried about", I said sheepishly.

"Sure", he laughed softly, "but don't jinx it. Our very own famous detective may be watching us through cameras and we don't want to give him any ideas we could regret."

We kept climbing until we reached the door that proclaimed we were on the tenth floor. Nothing bad had happened so far. I was starting to think Light's theory may have been correct. However, when we kept climbing we discovered that there were no stairs above the tenth floor in the staircase we were using.

"That's strange…why would they only have a fire escape for the people living below the eleventh floor? It doesn't make any sense", I observed.

"Maybe it's to force us out of the stairwell…" Light said, starting to walk back towards the door leading to the tenth floor, "well it can't hurt to see what's in store for us can it?" I followed cautiously. We opened the door the floor slowly, and stepped through. The residential hall we saw had emerald-green carpeting and the wallpaper was decorated with little flowers. It reminded me of the apartment I had been staying in, only a lot more fancier. And it didn't smell like leftover Chinese takeout.

Halfway through, I felt a stinging pain in my back.

I vaguely heard Light yell, "Watch out! From behind", and then thought about how ironic it was that he had been exactly 2.5 seconds too late.

There was a large figure dressed fully in black that pinned me to the ground. I did not feel at my best at the moment.

It took me a second to snap into reality and I tried to use my knees to push myself off the floor. It seemed to work for a second.

Then I realized the figure had his hand under my arm and over my head. Just like a half nelson…

I put my arm out just like they did in the wrestling shows when in the position. Unfortunately, that only worked when they were playing no-break-the-bones. The figure on top of me pushed me right over my arm, it snapped painfully out of my socket. I bit back a scream as I thought of a way to escape.

"Number two here, caught both. Tenth floor. Hurry over. Out", the figure was male, from what I thought the voice sounded like. I turned me head to see Light in the same position. I had to think of a way to get out of the hold before the others he had called reached the floor…

Suddenly I saw something shiny on his belt as he was leaning over to keep me in place. It looked like…Yes! I reached over with my good arm and grabbed the small container of pepper spray out of his belt. It slid out easily even though my fingers were fumbling from the pain in my other arm.

"Hey!" I shouted. He turned toward me. I flipped the cap open and pushed the spray button. A spray of clear water-like fluid erupted from the container and the man screamed and backed away. I rolled over and did the same to the man holding Light when he looked over to see what had happened.

"Good work May", Light said, pushing himself up on his feet. He grabbed his captor's head and smashed it into the floor with just enough force to make him unconscious. Then he came over and did the same with the other man while he was rubbing his eyes.

I sat up and pocketed the spray can. Then I grabbed my arm from the socket and tried to snap it back into place, tears forming form the pain.

"Here, let me help", Light walked over and leaned down, feeling for my arm socket through my shirt and snapping the ball of my arm back into it. The pain was blinding and I bit my lip hard to stop myself from screaming.

We stood up and surveyed the damage. The two men were dressed in comfortable movement-friendly black clothes and had small black bags with them. I slid my hands under the arms of the first one and hauled him upward, "help me move them into one of the rooms Light."

After pulling both of them into the nearest apartment room, we sat on the floor and took a break.

"I think your assumption was right. Ryuzaki doesn't play it simple…" he murmured, "I'll strip them so we can take their clothes. That way we won't be recognized from a distance.", he moved the first one into the bathroom so I wouldn't see him strip them. I walked over and lifted the black bags each of them had. I unzipped them and poured their contents onto the floor, sorting through them. Light came back dressed in the black clothes the man had been wearing and took the second one into the bathroom.

Flashlight…jump drive…phone…bunch of paper rolled up…

I unrolled the paper and gasped in surprise. They were construction blueprints for the building. I scanned them closely, trying to build a mental picture of the building's workings. It seemed that the emergency staircase continued on the other side of the building every ten floors, probably to prevent crowding. The building had a total of forty-four floors. I also noticed that there was no door or specific way to access the very top of the building. I frowned inwardly.

"Here, this one seemed smaller than the other one", Light emerged from the bathroom with a set of black clothes. I took them and walked to the other room, probably a bedroom.

The man had been wearing a set of black cotton pants with a sleeveless shirt, and a thin sweater-like jacket on top. The clothes were too big for me so I had to roll up the sleeves and pant legs. Light had also given me his boots but they were way to big so I discarded them out the window.

"The stairwell continues on the other side of the building. It switches sides every ten floors. It seems to be a new design apartments here have to prevent crowding in the case of an emergency fire. We have to get to the end of the floor. I'm also pretty sure all the doors and windows of this place are open", I said, coming back to the main room where Light was sitting cross-legged on the floor and pondering over the unrolled sheets.

"I see. I've hidden the bodies in the pantry so they shouldn't be discovered too soon", he replied. Suddenly we heard a sharp knocking on the door. We both froze in shock. The knocking soon turned into banging. We stuffed everything important into one of the black bags and Light slung it over his shoulder.

"The window", He whispered. I nodded. I went over to it and tugged at the bars that allowed it to swing open, and removed the mesh once it was open. Then I peered out and looked around. It didn't seem that high up but there was still a danger of death if we fell. I swung a leg out and grasped the protruding stone edge on the outside, pulling myself out.

"Is it safe?" Light questioned behind me.

"Hell no", was my reply. He seemed nerved.

"Do you want to just call Ryuzaki now and give up?" he asked.

"I don't know do you?" I stared at him pointedly and gestured for him to climb out too. He did so more confidently.

We had to slowly shift step by step down the edging before we could climb up the pipe to the next floor. I felt an adrenaline rush and wanted to giggle.

"I feel like James Bond", I told him with a straight face.

"Yeah well I feel like a fugitive", he replied, obviously filled with adrenaline too.

When we finally reached the pipe, I felt a gratitude to the world that this was a new building and therefore it wasn't rusted. I grasped it and pulled myself up to the next stone edging. Light did the same below me. I wasn't the most athletic, but I still had my quirks about tennis (which Lena had told me was the official "cool nerd" game) so my forearms were strong, which made this relatively easy.

The windows on the next floor were, as I had suspected, open. The latches had been left pulled out so it was easy to pull open and pushed in the mesh on the inside. I climbed in safely and immediately rushed to the door, opening it.

"The stairwell should be down here", Light said, taking the lead and running for it.

**next chapter will be up in a few minutes since i wrote it and then decided it was too long, so i divided it into two chapters. **


	9. Gone Wrong

**The next chapter will be up maybe tomorrow. I already have most of it typed up. I discovered that taking your laptop with you and typing in the car is a great way to get rid of winter road trip boredom. i had about three hours in the car where i finished typing this and the last chapter up. next one should be up soon. I already have most of it typed up.**

**Chap 9**

The next twenty floors were easy enough to get past once we knew what we were looking out for. I had never taken any martial arts or combat classes but Light knew a little and we got by without any injuries. Our main tactic seemed to be "pepper spray them blind and run like hell". I noticed that there were two people on each floor. They were all dressed in black, but they got stronger every floor we met them. They never seemed to be in the staircase though, so we never came out more than once every ten floors when we had to.

We were left staring at the door for the fortieth floor.

"Last one, huh?" I said.

"We're late though, it's almost five o'clock", Light said. I worried a little, but if all went well we'd be back in time for the broadcasting.

We opened the door. Immediately I felt the air in my lungs leaving me as I was pushed to the floor, something heavy on top of me. I immediately took out the pepper spray in my sleeve and sprayed harshly into my attacker's green eyes. Suddenly all I felt was a dead weight on top of me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I stayed still for a moment before pushing the body off me and sitting up, rubbing my head.

"That was the closes one yet I think", I said, turning toward Light.

The first thing I saw was a panicked look on his face. He was on the floor, pinned down by his attacker, pushing the button to release pepper spray but nothing came out. It was empty. I stood up clumsily to help but I was shocked still for a moment.

His attacker was a small, lithe form. She was holding a threatening knife to him. Suddenly he pushed the cylinder toward her hand in vain, trying to use it as a weapon.

The knife slipped on the cylinder.

It embedded itself into his shoulder.

All I could see was blood spreading over his shirt.

I snapped back into reality and sprayed the small figure until she fell back and cursed loudly in Japanese. Then I went over and smashed her head with the spray can until she dropped unconscious. When I turned around, Light was standing up and wincing in pain.

"Its ok, I'm fine. It didn't hit anything major and though the blood loss is dangerous I'm sure we'll reach the top and have Watari come before it turns into anything major", he stumbled over to the door. I went over and put his arm around my shoulders.

I needed to pass L's test here. It was the only thing I was thinking of. I wondered if him being hurt so badly meant that we'd failed. No…I need to pass this!

We made a mad, clumsy dash for the top floor. When we got to the penthouse, I stepped into one of the nearest rooms and pushed the window open.

"Can you climb? It's only a few feet", I asked him worriedly.

"Yeah, of course", he replied, grinding his teeth in pain.

I pulled myself out and helped Light out, trying to substitute my hand for the arm nearest to his injured shoulder. It was a long and painful climb, even thought it was four feet at most, but we eventually made it.

The roof of the building was blessedly flat and easy to move on, in the very center sat a small black device. I rushed over and fell on my knees beside it, picking it up with fumbling fingers and flipping the cell phone open.

"Watari's number, what is it?" Light asked, sitting down beside me.

I paused. Only to marvel at my own stupidity. How was I supposed to know Watari's number! I had though Light would know it! his number…maybe it was another test…maybe his number was a code…what about L's number! We had the cell phones with which we could call him….but no. He had said specifically to call Watari's number, calling L's would mean we'd failed and needed help.

Then I stopped.

_There will be no other people allowed on the roof. Once you get there, I want you to call Watari's cell phone. You do not need to say anything once you make the call. That is all._

That was it!

"I know it, but I'm supposed to keep it private, could you turn around please?" I asked. He complied, turning his back to me.

I pressed a few random numbers on the phone, making it sound like I was calling Watari. Secretly, I reached up my sleeve for the thick belt-like bracelet and pressed the middle, the sliver buckle-like object, three times quickly. This would call Watari's phone. It was genius of him to have though it out, even hinting I needn't say anything.

"Done. He should be here in a few minutes. How's your shoulder?" I put the phone down.

"It's fine. Not as bad as I though. I'm already loving the scar", he replied playfully. I walked over and realized that he was lying to make me less worried. It looked horrible. If it was left alone for a lot longer he could get infected, or even blood poisoning. It was probably unimaginably painful as well. I helped him bind it with torn strips of the black bag.

Then I noticed something, "Light, why hasn't he called yet? L said he'd call within a minute of Watari receiving our call", I took out my phone and his and watched them, "it's been five minutes.

I tried calling again. And again, from the belt buckle. Then I even called L's phone from our phones in desperation. Nothing worked. We didn't receive any calls from him.

Then I gasped.

"What time is it!"

"It's 6:10, why?"

_Watari, we need another TV…_

_A second Kira?..._

_The second Kira's message.._

The broadcast had probably already started! Watari was busy attending L's calls and L probably left us to watch the broadcast since he believed we would pass! But Light would die if his injuries became any worse!

"What's happening? Why isn't he responding?" I could hear the hidden panic in his voice, Light knew how serious his injuries were. He knew there was a chance of him dying of blood loss. The blood on the wounds had already started coagulating, but there was already too much blood flow.

"I don't know…but I'll go get tissues to stop the blood flow. I know how serious your injuries are Light", I turned away, planning to get tissues from the bathroom in one of the suites, "stay right here, you'll be fine."

I climbed down in a rush, afraid I would fall from hurrying all the same. When I reached the bathroom I took all the tissue paper rolls from the bar and the drawers. Tissue would help absorb the blood. And maybe we could find something

Then I stopped.

Light is Kira. If he dies here, L would live…

It would be so easy to let him die.

No effort at all.

I would save million of people by killing Kira. And Misa would give up, with nothing to gain from pretending to be Kira.

I looked into the bathroom mirror, piles of tissue paper rolls bundled in my arms. Dark eyes in a slightly tanned face stared back at me, framed by silky black hair. Killing Kira…wouldn't that make me a killer? I looked into my reflection.

_Do these look like the eyes of a killer to you, May?_

But I was robbed of the decision.

I felt the touch of a small piece of paper on my arm, and suddenly there was a giant shadow looming over me. My eyes widened.

_Shinigami…_

Large black eyes stared at me, in a distorted grayish face. The face of a monster. Only my knowledge of who he was kept me from panicking. Ryuk…I had forgotten he was in the picture…I had forgotten that there were players in this game that I could never control...

"Hello little hacker. I'm not supposed to do this, but my fun is dangerously close to an end. The clueless look on your face is the most hilarious thing I've seen all year. Getting to the point, it seems that the longer you stand here, the smaller Light's lifespan gets. Funny, huh? I don't know what you have against him, but it's like you're plotting to let him _die_."

He said it so threateningly it made my breath catch.

I held my breath. This wasn't supposed to happen…

"What are you?", I asked hesitantly, like any other person would.

"I am a shinigami, but you don't need to know any more from me. Our little meeting here stays a secret between you and me, understand? Light doesn't need to know about this at all. He'll think I'm looking out for him or some shit like that. All you need to know is that if Light dies, so does all my entertainment. If this happens, then if you're lucky I'll make _you _dance for me instead. If I'm not in the mood, then you'll die." Ryuk laughed.

"Now take your stupid human medicines to him and make sure he lives. Catcha later little hacker", Ryuk disappeared and I waited until he was gone to collapse on my knees, spilling the tissues. There was no doubt now. My decision had already been made for me. I had to save Light.

Two minutes were wasted as I sat there on the floor on the verge of a breakdown. Now that Ryuk had shown himself to me, he was another player in the game I involved myself in. I seemed that I was...losing my place. Losing my power. Too many people knew about my advantage. First there was Watari. And now there was Ryuk, who knew I was against Light. If he told his death note holder about me, Light would use Misa to find out my real name and kill me. Damn it all...I was losing my hold over my advantages. If things went like they were going, I'd have to rely on Misa and L to help me stay alive! This wasn't supposed to happen! Things were turning into chaos! I needed my control back! I wouldn't be reduced to depending on anybody!

When I forced myself to stand and make my way back to the rooftop, I had a new plan. A plan for everything in the future. It wouldn't hurt to play double agent for a while, and in the end I swore to myself that I would never turn from my goal of helping L. Never. This was my world now. The world my future was going to take place in. I wasn't going to let it be ruined by Kira. The utopia he spoke of in the anime sounded so pure. That was the problem with it. It sounded that way because he knew very well it would only be utopia for him. Everyone else would be reduced to shivering servants of the one who called himself Justice. But know it was time to forget all of that. I had to act, and act fast or I would be the new play toy of a death god.

"Here", I said, sliding the bundles of tissue under the makeshift bandages to stop the blood flow, " I don't think Watari will be coming anytime soon, but I have a plan. We need to get you to that hospital nearby."

Light looked up, his complexion was starting to get pale from blood loss, "yes of course. Let's hurry, I can still walk", he pushed himself up and I helped him lower himself onto the penthouse floor and we took the staircase. Light took to sliding down the railing instead of climbing and that made the job easier, but there was still the chance of him falling so I exhausted myself by running down as fast as he slid.

When we reached the bottom floor we stumbled all the way to the entrance and out of the building. Me from exhaustion and Light from his worsening injuries. It fact that the place was a newly developing area meant there was no one in sight and no cars to help us out so we had to walk all the way.

The hospital finally came into sight with a large sign. There was a playground nearby, where a man was pushing two little boys on the swings. I waved to them.

"We need help!" I shouted. The man rushed over when he saw the blood stains on Light's shirt and took over for me supporting him.

"Naru, go to the hospital and tell them we have someone who's seriously injured and needs help, alright", he said to one of the little boys. The boys nodded and ran off towards the building.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking..." The man asked. I gave him a sincerely worried look, "My cousin and I are relatives of the man who's building the apartment over there, we were overlooking the plans with him when he had to leave because of an emergency and told us to stay there. We found the suite he was using temporarily and stayed there because the kitchen had food in it. But Light here tripped while trying to reach something from the top cabinets and the fish knife of the counter fell on him." It wasn't the best story, but I was sure he would believe anything at the moment. Seeing another human being in trouble didn't give most people much thought capability.

Light was admitted in the emergency care room. A lady in loose nurse's attire came over to me.

"Are you a relative to the patient? We need information on his identity. We've started the treatments already but there's the matter of payment for the medical services. Does he have insurance? Could you fill us in on his name and address?" She had a firm but soft voice. Thankfully she spoke in English, noting that I looked like a foreigner. Looking at our unclean clothes and the fact that we didn't exactly smell very nice, I supposed she thought we were runaways.

"I'm his cousin, Miss. We came here with our uncle and a few other friends to play semaine noir in the apartment over there for fun. But there was an emergency and they had to leave and my cousin injured himself accidently in the kitchen. The fish knife fell on him from the top of the counter. Please start the treatment right away...my uncle will be here in a few minutes, I just need to inform him of where we are and he'll take care of anything else", I told her in a soft French/Italian accent. L and Watari looked more like foreigners too, so if they came around, they'd believe me better. I just hoped he would get fast before people started questioning why someone obviously Japanese like Light was playing semaine noir with a foreigner. Luckily she nodded and left, probably not knowing what I was talking about in the first place.

I sat down in a visitor's lounge chair and took out my cell phone and Light's. I reached up my sleeve and pressed the bracelet's button again. The broadcast would have ended by now, Watari would pick up. Then I held the two small black cell phones in front of my, waiting. The nurse was still there at the desk, watching me. She was probably wondering if we would really be able to pay for the treatments.

It was around thirty seconds of anxiousness before one of the cell phones began to ring. I flipped it open in relief.

"Hello?" I asked in quick concession.

"Yes Miss Amara? I noticed you had called me earlier but I was not available. However you don't seem to be at the building's roof? I went back to inform Ryuzaki and he is here with me at the moment. Are you still inside? I believe you weren't supposed to call until you were on the rooftop?"

"Thank god you're there uncle! Light's badly hurt while we were playing and we're at the hospital nearby. Please hurry, he's in treatment right now and I told the people here that you'd take care of the patient files!" I said, loudly enough for the lady to hear. She seemed satisfied and turned back to her work.

"Good god you're magnets for trouble. No worries, we'll be there in a few minutes. Stay where you are", he said, ending the call. I flipped the cell phone closed and leaned back into the seat, sighing. I looked back toward the desk and saw Ryuk lounging there. he noticed me watching and smiled.

"You know, you aren't scared very easily. Most people would let out this beautiful scream that rivals the scream of someone getting their intestines ripped out", he smirked. I cringed at the example, and pulled out my iPhone, entering the SMS app.

"Whatcha doin?" he wandered over. I typed out a message on my phone.

_No one else can see you right?_

"Of course not. That should be obvious by now genius."

_Are you obligated to tell Light anything that I say?_

"Nope. I'm my own free soul honey."

_Would you?_

"It depends. Probably not since it might ruin my fun. But Lights a sharp one. He might notice something. Don't blame me if he does."

Here I paused. Setting my plan into action would need it, but i still hesitated before typing the message.

_Could you help me out in the future? I promise it'll be fun._

"Depends how fun, but I've got no limitations."

_Thanx. You won't regret it. I'll say this: I know more than you think._

"Huh? You lost me, human", he sounded confused.

_I'll tell you the entire story later. I have no qualms about keeping anything from you if you're on my side. Don't let Light know about anything. I'll give you a little hint to look forward to: Soon, Light is going to disown his death note. When that happens, will you come to me first before doing what he tells you to do?_

I could sense Ryuk's eyes widening as I typed, "Wait, how do you know about this? Are you a death note owner? Where's your shinigami?"

_Will you?_

"Yes of course, whatever. Just tell me how you know about the death note."

_A little birdie told me_

"What? That's not going to work on me hacker. I will want answers soon if you want my help on something."

_I am not paying you with information, Ryuk. I'm paying you with entertainment._

"Light is good enough for now. Spill it before I decide I can settle with him."

I smiled slowly. This was where a lot of my plan depended.

_I'm not human. And I'm not shinigami. I'm something else, don't mess with me or I won't seek to humor you anymore._

"You know the Old Man don't you? You're one of his weird hybrid children. Fine. I'll play along. I'm actually looking forward to this now. Just don't tell him I'm here alright. That can be our little secret."

Hybrid children. I smiled, that sounded cool. I'd go with it.

A minute passed before I saw Watari and L come into the room.

"May! I'm so sorry! I'll get your cousin looked after alright? You go with Ryan here, he'll take you back to the hotel. I'll be there after I finish with poor Light", Watari said it believably enough that the nurse at the desk turned around and smiled at him, "Sir, you must be the uncle of our emergency patient. Come right this way please."

L walked ever to me, "come on, I've got new information to tell you about, and I need you to confirm one of my theories." I nodded and followed him out of the hospital.

"What happened? Watari said he was busy", I asked him quietly.

"There was a broadcast on Sakura TV that we needed to watch urgently and Watari seems to have left his cell phone on his bedroom table. Please excuse him, he meant no hamr. My own cell phone was disregarded on a plate of cake nearby and no one heard it ring because we were all so focused on the broadcast", we arrived at a black car and L sat in the driver's seat. I climbed into the passenger seat at the front and grasped my purse tightly in front of me.

"So did we pass?" I asked hesitantly.

"It was never a matter of passing or failing, May. You did well though. Your skills seem to be specialized in many different fields. The two of you handled this test impressively. This incident was only caused by a minor accident, but your capabilities in handling it were notable." The response was vague but I supposed a complement like that from L equaled a "you are amazing. Let me kiss your feet".

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Ryuzaki broke it when we finally reached the hotel.

"Tomorrow, I will ask Light to write a reply to the broadcast we've seen. I've sent you both video copies of the episode and you may analyze them sometime tonight in your suite. Everyone else has already been dismissed for the day." Here he stopped walking for a moment. "We've also had a terrible casualty. Ukita is dead. Kira seems to have killed him when he tried to stop of the broadcast. I've sent you those videos also."

"I understand. I'll review them tonight and see what I can find", I assured him before going to my rooms.

I could smell the fresh detergent smell that told me my sheets had been washed when I stepped into the room. I went to go take a shower and came back dressed in my bathrobe, my hair dripping wet down the back of it. I sat on my bed and pulled my laptop out of my purse, starting it and then going to email. As I already knew, there were files that I been sent to me with video clips. I clicked on the first one and opened it, yawning.

Back at task force headquarters, a figure sat peculiarly on a chair in the security room, surrounded by plasma screens. The figure pushed strands of silky black hair out of his face and extended a long finger to play the footage for the tenth time. Footage taken in a newly built apartment with emerald green carpeting and wallpaper with little flowers on it. Footage where two figures appeared out of the stairwell every ten floors. There were cameras in the elevators too, but he was more interested to see what had happened on the floors. Especially the fortieth floor.

Every time he replayed it, he noticed the folded-up piece of paper that had fallen out of Light's shirt when he was attacked. It only lasted a few seconds before he pushed it back it, hiding it.

And every time he replayed the scene where may was in the bathroom gathering tissue paper, probably to help the injured Light, he noticed her eyes. There was a change in her eyes. One moment they were cold, calculating. The next moment they were filled with fear and surprise. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was still there. Her lips moved, as if she was saying something, but he couldn't hear because there were no wiretaps. He watched as she fell on her knees probably overwhelmed by something.

He also noticed the slight strain in Watari's voice when he showed it to him and asked for an opinion. The strain when Watari told him it was probably nothing. The strain that proved the existence of the wary looks his father-figure had been giving May recently. At first he had assumed that it was because Watari had mistaken his interest with May as something more romantic and was trying to know more about her. Those thoughts had been confirmed when Watari had nicely asked him when they would be getting married and if he could be the best man. L had declined just as politely. May was pretty by standards and had a nice personality but the true treasure he wanted from her was her mind. It was her mind that intrigued him. If only someone like her could work with him on all his cases. It would save him own brain cells a lot of work.

But now the looks weren't one's of a worried father. They were the kind of looks a helpless citizen would give to a bomb sitting in their house. To something dangerous.

May and Light. They were special. They were so much like himself. Light was very close to his definition of perfection, and May approached it as well. People like them had never been in his life before. They were worthy of being candidates for his successors. He already thought about giving May the title of Deneuve for herself.

_Or maybe she can take over as M once the current one dies._

"Watari. Bring me some cake please. In a flavor I've never had before. Surprise me."

Each time, he came closer to figuring out.

There was something strange about it all.

So many things were being hidden from him.

His dark eyes narrowed, Light was his prime Kira suspect, but he'd start with May.

The figure leapt up from the chair, intent on paying someone a visit.

**next one up maybe tomorrow. **

**Reviews make the world go round.**


	10. The Second Kira

Srry about the delay, I was on my ski trip at Blue Mountain (!)

Anyway, this chapter isn't very plot-ist but it's leading into one. i had to delete it-re-upload it a few times so srry if it disappeared while you were reading or something. i made a few spelling mistakes putting it up the first time.

Rockangle777: I know i'm kind of late acknowledging your review but yeah, I kinda forgot Mello's hair was blond. I'd change it but i'm afriad i'll mess up the chapter upload thing.

SingingSyd, i'm glad you don't think May is a Mary-Sue, i personally don't like Mary-Sues.

Btw YaoiLoverDeathNote1: I LOVE CHOCOLATE POCKY. HAND IT OVER.

**Chapter 10**

Light pushed his hair out of his eyes and sat down at his desk, taking a pen delicately out of his drawer. A dark figure followed him into the room.

"Ryuk, is there anything I need to know?" He watched the tall shinigami out of the corner of his eye. He had been acting quite strangely for the past day. Staring at May and L too often. It was like he knew about something they had kept a secret from him.

"Why do you ask Light? And no, there's nothing new. I wouldn't be able to hide it anyway. If your worried about some rule I haven't told you about, I assure you that you now know everything there is to know about the death note.

Light turned his chair around to face the desk again, taking out the death note from it's compartment, "alright then. It doesn't matter much anyway. I already have plans for Ryuzaki and May." Ryuk smiled, "plans?"

"Yeah. This new Kira…" he turned on his laptop and found the video files L had sent him, "he obviously wants to help me. He may be an idiot, but I can make him listen to me. And then I'll tell him to make the deal for the eyes. After that, all I have to do is introduce him to Ryuzaki at university and it'll all be finished." He smiled, "no, not finished. Finished isn't the right word. After all, that's the point where you'll see a new world being made out of this mess of crime. That's where it'll all begin."

Ryuk grabbed an apple from the basket by Light's bed and bit into it, "and what about May? You said you had plans for her didn't you?"

"Of course. You see, Ryuk, Ryuzaki thinks that he's found a real treasure with May. After all, she's smart, she sees things in his way, she strong minded, and she may not be working her butt off and getting no sleep like the other members, but she's one of the most important figures in the investigation. In fact, her presence is intriguing. I think she might know something about Ryuzaki that forced him to let her into the investigation.

"But she's not like him. She's very different. She's the type of person who listens to reason. She's not the type to stick by L when she knows Kira is winning, even if she chose L's side first. When it becomes obvious that Kira will be the victor, she won't hesitate to switch sides. I want to make her a replacement for this second Kira. He's stupid anyway, when I kill him his notebook will be mine, and then I'll give it to May."

Light leaned back in his chair, confident in his plan. May was perfect for the second Kira. Not that he made the decision based only on her intellect. She interested him. Everything about her interested him, from the way she spoke to the way she dressed. She had the type of classic but exotic beauty that many of the high school girls he had gone out with had lacked. Ever since that day when they'd gone out for lunch, he'd begun to feel comfortable with her. She was utterly perfect for him. May had the potential to play hard to get with Light Yagami without falling back into his arms halfway, and that was something he could respect.

"Humans are so…interesting…" Ryuk whispered behind him.

The knock on the door startled me awake.

That was when I realized that I had fallen asleep in my bathrobe halfway though watching the video scenes, curled around my laptop. I yawned loudly and sat up, smoothing my hair back.

"Coming", I shouted, rubbing my eyes and standing up. I pulled the bathrobe tight around me, only planning to peek out through the door so I wouldn't have to make myself decent before answering.

When I opened the door however, I raised my eyebrows, L was standing in the hallway. He actually had shoes on, the laces untied.

"Well, may I come in? I wanted to discuss the videos", he said calmly, hands in his jeans' pockets.

Why now of all times? I was dead tired. It was ten am on a Sunday morning. No one woke up this early. "Sure", I moved aside, and then went red as I noted I was still in my bathrobe, "could you take a seat and wait for a moment? I'll be right back."

He came in, slipped his shows off, and seated himself crouched in the plush hotel chair and I rushed into the bathroom and looked around for clothes. I hadn't wanted to open my closet in front of him because it was messy. I opened the towel cabinet and finally found a short gray pleated skirt and v-neck shirt that I had put in there a long time ago for some reason. It wasn't the best thing to wear since it was chilly outside and I didn't leave the heater on, but it was better than a bathrobe. I donned them and quickly dried my hair as much as I could with a towel, stepping out.

L had taken my laptop and had it in his lap, probably reviewing the videos, "have you watched all of them yet?"

"No", I walked over, intending to sit on the bed, which was the only other seat in the hotel room, "I started with this one and then fell asleep. I'll finish them tomorrow morning." I yawned, hoping I was giving off the "I'm really sleepy and therefore am not myself" aura, "What is this idea?"

I sat down on the bed and crossed my legs, taking my glasses off the bed stand and slipping them on. L turned the laptop toward me and played the second Kira's first message. We sat there listening to it. I thought I could see worry in his eyes.

"So what do you think? Did you find anything strange?" He asked after it finished. I pondered my answer for a while, "it's unlike Kira to do something like this. He wouldn't kill innocent people. And the character of this person seems very different. Unprofessional, not as good", I told him, "I don't think it's the Kira we've been hunting. It's like someone else was doing this. Did the criminals mentioned really die?"

He looked at me curiously, "yes, they did...I came to the same conclusion. That this isn't Kira. It's someone else."

"A second Kira?" I asked, knowing the answer. "Exactly", he replied, "A second person with Kira's abilities. Thank you for confirming my suspicions on the case, May. I believe I'm getting a boost of motivation from this event. I plan to test Light on this as well when he's fine again."

I smiled, "Glad to be of help. Do you ever actually sleep?" I took the conversion in a different direction just to get to know him better. He looked like he had something on his mind. I stressed the word sleep, hoping my amateur linguistic skills would make him a little sleepy so he would open up more easily.

"Yes, I do. I use sleep anchors to force myself to sleep when I really need it. I've found that the average human only essentially needs around four hours of sleep every three days to survive", he put the laptop away and looked around the room. I laughed, "I'll try that then, just to see how long before I collapse from exhaustion."

"If you don't mind me asking, who's that?" he then asked, pointing. I turned to see what he meant and saw that he was pointing at the framed photograph sitting on my still mostly-packed baggage. It was a picture of me and Lena doing the James Bond pose.

"It's a friend of mine from Canada. Her name is Lena. Now that you mention it, I haven't called her in days..." I paused worriedly. I saw L give me a strange look, as if he was astounded that I had a 'friend'. It's like he was trying to convey his disappointment that I was so different from him, that I had friends and other normality's.

I remembered all of a sudden that his first friend had been the man who'd killed him and felt a pang of sadness before shutting it away. It wouldn't take long to convince him otherwise. It was the perfect time to build some connections that would make him trust me further.

"When I was in highschool, I didn't make friends very easily. I had lots of acquaintances, groups I was part of just so I wouldn't be a loner at lunch. But I never had any real friends. I didn't know why. I wasn't picky or anything, I was polite to everyone. It's just that everyone had already formed their own close friendships before I appeared. So I had lots of people who knew me, even liked me well enough to vote me student council president, but there was no one who's house I could appear in anytime I wanted. No one who I could really get to know.

"Lena only came to my attention around my junior year. We had the same biology class, and her interest in it was so… inspiring. I'd never even liked biology, since my main science course was physics, but Lena immediately appeared next to me when I mentioned to my lab partner that I kept mixing up the definitions for the larynx and the pharynx. She guided me through a picture of how the voice box worked. I never had to ask, she just started explaining it to me. I guess she was my first friend. She was insanely smart in anything to with the human body, and she approved of my hacking skills to for some odd reason. Lena's studying to be a doctor now, and I guess when all this is over I'll study project management and work my way up to being a director", I finished on that note, "did you ever go to high school Ryuzaki?"

He cocked his head to one side, "no, I was homeschooled. I've never experienced it." I knew the answer already but it was still strange to hear. I'd never met anyone who'd been homeschooled before. "Ryuzaki...if you don't mind me asking, how did you become L? How does a person suddenly become a world famous detective?

He was silent for a while, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"I understand", I sighed, "do you want to go outside? I need fresh air. I can already smell the takeout the people in the room next to us are eating." I hoped he would say yes. This was a great opportunity to get to know him, the greatest detective in the world. I felt so at ease around him, like I felt around Light.

"Outside?" He sounded worried.

"Yeah, I don't the area very well so I usually just go for a small walk in the mornings. Everyone is really nice to me cause they think I'm a tourist. I get discounts while buying candy."

"I believe morning walks are rather healthy…I've...just never been outside without Watari. That's all. I'll come along", he slipped into his shoes while I put on knee high socks so I wouldn't freeze. We walked out of the hotel and onto the sidewalk.

"What are your interests Ryuzaki? I've never seen you when you're doing anything but solving cases", I asked since it was too quiet.

"I play tennis, and keep up with scientific discoveries, that is all. What about you May? Apart from hacking."

"Well I like painting and sketching and playing the piano and...well...there isn't much I don't like", I replied

We found ourselves walking past a tourist souvenir store.

"Looks interesting", I said, walking in. Stores here in Japan had such neat stuff. L hesitated a moment before following me. I grazed my hand over the shelves, looking at all the interesting stuff, when I stopped next to a jewelry stand. I turned to see L mixing up a five by five Rubik's cube. I turned back to the stand and touched a pink bow-wrapped skull necklace. It reminded me of Ryuk for a moment. I looked back to see L holding the cube fully solved again.

"How do you do that? I've never seen a five by five before..." I said, coming up beside him.

"The algorithms are basically the same, May. It's just that you perform them with the outer squares instead of the inner squares. And the end is done a little differently, like this.." We stood there, him teaching me the equations for the cube. It was interesting, it was like he was in a different world whenever he talked about things like this. Cases...puzzles. They were his passion.

Soon we decided to leave. L was walking a little straighter now for some reason.

"May, what do you think of my idea of making Light write a reply script to broadcast, as a response to the second Kira?" L had his thumb in his mouth again. I thought about it, "it's a good idea. But you won't be able to prove much about him from it. Unless he tries to imbed a code into it, but I don't think that's something Light would be careless enough to do unless he knew for sure that only a Kira would understand. But then again, we'd find out when we learn more about Kira so I doubt it."

His eyes took on a faraway look, "I guess that's decided then."

We were halfway back to the hotel when I saw him. It was Light, walking out of a grocery store along with his sister. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt and carrying a bag overflowing with apples. Ryuzaki waved at him when he turned around to see us. I wondered how he was doing. It was only yesterday when he had been stabbed in the shoulder but he was up and walking already. Judging on the way he squared his shoulders a little awkwardly while walking, I assumed they had bandaged it up and given him blood loss supplements.

"Ryuzaki, you're...well...outside! I don't know why that's so surprising but it is", Light said sheepishly, coming over. He said the last part sarcastically and it made me smile.

"I know right? I should get an award for dragging him outside", I said, winking at him.

He laughed, "anyway, this is my younger sister Sayu. We were just out shopping", he gestured to Sayu.

"Are these friends of yours Light?" she asked. He nodded, "they're from university, Sayu. The two other exam flyers I mentioned."

"Really? Thank goodness. You see when Light mentioned that there were two other people who had aced the exam apart from him that he was hanging out with, I thought they'd be total nerds, but you guys look ok so it's a relief", she saluted the air an gave us a genuinely happy smile. I suddenly felt sorry for her, she would be captured by Mello because of her brother's plans.

"So do you two want to come over for tea while Ryuzaki still actually outside his room? My mom's starting to think I'm a total loner since I don't bring girls home anymore. I used to all the time in my senior year just to satisfy her but all these university girls are too smart…", he rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Well I have no work to do as of late so I see no problem in it. And May looks like she needs a rest from work too", Ryuzaki replied.

Sayu squealed and we followed her and Light to a medium sized house. It was just like it looked in the anime, homely and bright. I remembered that Chief Yagami lived here as well and wondered how we were going to explain it. We entered and took of our shoes when Light's mother appeared.

"Friends of yours Light?" She asked, smiling at us. "Yeah mom. They'll be over for a while, we're studying for the start of the year. They usually give you a small test in the beginning but that determines your starting grade" Light answered.

"Studying in the beginning of the year, studying at the end of the year, studying in the middle of the year, Light you're always studying. Anyway, mom, they're the other geniuses Light mentioned who aced the entrance exam!", I heard Sayu squeal to her mom. Suddenly Chief Yagami appeared, stupefied. He spent a while staring at the fact that the world's greatest detective was standing in his own house. There was a few minutes of silence.

"Hello Mr. Yagami. We're friends of your son", Ryuzaki finally said, breaking the silence. The chief understood and walked away normally with his newspaper, nodding to acknowledge us. He gave me a glare before he left and Light winced.

Light led us upstairs to his bedroom. He pulled out fold-up chairs and we seated ourselves.

"You have a very nice house Light", L said.

"Yeah, well I've been living here all my life and I would actually like a change of scenery. A person can get bored seeing the same thing every day", he pushed stray hairs out of his face. L glanced at his shoulder, "and how is your shoulder? I presume the hospital had it taken care of?"

Light winced slightly, "yeah, it's fine now. I kept it a secret from my parents, they would probably say the investigation is too dangerous for me if I showed them."

"I apologize that you were put thought this, my workers were ordered never to actually harm you but it seems someone forgot to inform them of such. Watari was with me watching the broadcast at the time you called so he wasn't able to receive your call. It caused a lot of problems, but both of you did well for people who have never been trained", Ryuzaki put his thumb into his mouth, "I had everything videotaped and watched it already."

I skipped a breath for a second. He had seen what happened in the bathroom! Hopefully he would take it as me feeling helpless in the situation or something like that.

"Well I'm glad. It was my own fault that I made the knife skip on the container I was holding. If not for that it would have been just fine", Light smiled, "there's something else you look like you want to ask, fire ahead."

"Well you see, I had an idea about Kira's message and I wanted to ask you on your analysis for it", Ryuazki asked softly. Light eyes narrowed, it was very subtle but I knew what to look for.

"He…doesn't act like Kira. Not how I imagined Kira to act. And he killed petty criminals who's only crime in his eyes was insulting him on TV. I don't think the Kira we're after would do that. I think there might be another Kira", he said, hesitating a little. Ryuzaki smiled a little, "I see you've come to the same conclusion as myself. There is another Kira around. A second Kira. I propose a plan to confirm this. I want to broadcast a message to this second Kira as the real Kira. Just to see how he reacts."

"That's an excellent idea. If he's intent on helping kill criminals then he'll probably try to meet up with the "real" Kira and we can catch him in the act", Light added.

"Yes, exactly. Why don't you play the role of the original Kira, Light?" Ryuzaki put his thumb into his mouth.

"Well…uh…sure I guess I could do that", Light stuttered. I hid a smile at his reaction.

"It wouldn't be wise to support his idea of luring L out though", I said, "because that could actually work, with a little planning. Not that L would be caught out, but this second Kira could potentially hold everyone against him."

"Yes I was rather worried. He seems to be quite rash but his forceful methods might ruin L's status if the public sees no other way", Ryuzaki added, referring to himself in third person just as I had.

At that moment, Sayu came in through the door, "Light, it's lunchtime! Mom wants to know if your friends will be staying over, she's ok with it but she wants to know so she can lay out extra plates."

Light looked at us, and immediately noticed Ryuzaki's worried look.

"Light what do you normally eat at lunchtime?" he questioned with a weird look on his face. Light shifted, and then turned to Sayu, "Sayu do we have any cake or ice cream here? Anything sweet?"

She thought for a moment, and then answered, "we have lots of ice cream…oh and yeah we have the cake that mom made from the cake mix this morning…and donuts. We have donuts that one of my friends brought over. Why?"

Ryuzaki visibly relaxed, "that is sufficient. I'll be sure to explain my dietary disorder if you'll have us over Light."

"Sure. May, you'll love my mom's cooking, she's amazing when it comes to it. We'll leave you craving Japanese food for the rest of your life", Light joked, gesturing us over. We followed him downstairs.

Lunch was lively. Chief Yagami seemed strangely resigned and remained quiet most of the time. Sayu never stopped talking, and Light and I chatted with her all through the meal. Ryuzaki added in now and then and ate his plate full of cake and donuts. It was fun, I'd never eaten a family meal since I left for university residence when I was nineteen. Even before that, my parents had been computer junkies. Their jobs, and their entire lives revolved around technology. Their idea of dinner was a slice of pizza at their desk while working on some project. I was submitted to pretty much the same and was used to eating pizza on a plate all alone at our large, expensive glass dining table under the almost equally large, soft yellow chandelier. Every night that happened, I'd sit there thinking about how it was the type of table that deserved to be used by a huge family of six, and not by one lonely girl.

When we'd complemented Light's mom on her cooking and said goodbye, we ended up back at headquarters. I did my usual for the day. Also known as sitting on L's couch researching random things and create viruses. Tomorrow was the day Light would make his message for Kira, tomorrow evening. In the morning, we had our first day of University at To Oh.

**I got a review saying there are a few grammer mistakes, should i get a beta? what do you guys think? **

**The story shall progress as feedback is given...**

**...in the form of reviews...**


	11. Humor me with a Kiss

**...Yeah this took longer than usual. I didn't have enough time to write because of exam week being here. I had to go to study group after study group and sit with a bunch of overly stressed IB students while we studied for grade 9 IB exams. I swear I could literally feel their exam stress creeping into me...**

**anyway, here it is. I explored a weird topic in this chapter, tell me if you guys like it. I planned this out, but i don't know if it's too sudden or not. **

**The L.O.S.T paperclip: your review was definitely inspiring. im glad you think i used the idea properly. **

**Chapter 11**

I pushed my book bag farther up on my shoulder in the crowded bus. I hated buses now. It seems I was destined to travel in them forever. To school, to work, and to university again. They were crowded and you never got a seat and the person next to you was always the one who ate bacon for breakfast. But it was the only way to get to university and I was too proud to ask Ryuzaki for a ride.

I'd woken up feeling like it was Christmas. There was something about first days of school, the fresh classes, the new faces, the library neatly arranged in the Dewey Decimal system….I'd spent an hour making sure I had all the textbooks on the textbook list I had been given (Ryuzaki took care of getting them for me since I was in interrogation), and spending hours in front of the mirror. I finally settled on a pair of dark washed skinny jeans and an off-the-shoulder deep gray sweater which showed off straps of a black tank top underneath. It was cold outside and I wanted to be dressed for the weather, unlike last time.

When I got to To Oh I went to my rented locker and put away the textbooks for my evening classes, keeping the ones I needed in the morning. I looked at my schedule. Project Documentation and Team Dynamics. It was part of my majoring option. I felt the butterflies in my stomach as I walked to the room. Luckily the classes were held in English medium so I wouldn't have to learn Japanese too.

The course was easy enough. We had to do a short essay on a given topic to start off, and then we got a lecture on the different types of team members. I was used to this, even though I was a programmer, anything in my computer majors had involved team management. I flipped through the textbook while the others finished up. After that, we were told to partner with the people sitting beside us an discuss the value of a "devil's advocate" in a team and the role they played. Since we were seated in groups of two, I was paired with the girl sitting next to me, who was incidentally one of the other two girls in the entire class.

"Hey you're Mayra right? We heard rumors that you were considered for freshman rep this year! Sorry I'm kind of off topic but…were you?", I wondered if I should tell her. She looked like a nice person, with long hair, a slight accent, and the kind of eyes that seemed to melt at anything, but if you got to know her she would probably be fiery too.

"I was but I thought it would be rude to accept since I wouldn't being studying here for too long", I smiled. She looked so surprised. "Now we should probably get back on topic, what do you think about it…um…sorry what was your name?"

"Hiyono, my name's Hiyono. and I don't think a devil's advocate is really necessary. I mean, there always is one but they end up discouraging the other members."

"Well I think I can play devil's advocate there, because they can be useful. I mean, they find faults that other members may ignore. They don't usually relay them in considerable polite ways but the job is still done. A team can't work well when everyone agrees, there would be too much bias to properly determine the pros and cons of each decision", I completed.

She looked slightly impressed, "that was well said. I change my conclusion a little. It depends on the team members. If they are the type of people who will fall to pieces at criticism then it would be a disadvantage to include someone who is good at finding faults and disagrees with most things. If the members are the type who like constructive criticism and can find ways to properly make use of the information, a devil's advocate may be an advantage."

"Ah but in this very class we learn that as team managers, we need to learn how to translate criticism in a way that benefits the team. This class is supposed produce effective managers, right? So we can conclude that "effective managers", which we all clearly strive to be, benefit from the constructive criticism given by someone who plays the role of a devil's advocate. Therefore, an "effective" team values one. And an "ineffective" team does not. Since all teams want to be effective, the position of a devil's advocate is necessary."

She raised an eyebrow, "ok I think we've come to an agreement here."

"Is that your way of saying 'I lose'?" I asked playfully. She smirked. We turned our attention back to the lecturer as our discussion time finished.

When the three hours of morning classes were over, I went back to my locker and gratefully put away my heavy book bag. It was the one thing I hated about school, carrying heavy book bags around. I took my small purse out and dangled it around my hand, heading out of the university grounds to where Light, Ryuzaki and I had decided to meet to have lunch. It was a small restaurant that Light had introduced to us. I decided I would have to learn how to eat Japanese food one day so I agreed with his choice.

Ryuzaki and Light were already waiting when I got there.

"Sorry am I late?" I asked. Light shook his head, "of course not, I just got here and Ryuuga seems to be hours early for everything", he turned to L with a sneaky but charming smile on his face, "come on Ryuuga, looks like May doesn't eat Japanese food that often so we have to pick something new out for her."

I paled. I hoped it wouldn't have seafood in it. I hated seafood since I was little. I liked fish, but as long as they weren't dead.

Lunch wasn't too bad. For some reason I felt Light's eyes on me more often than usual. I was used to it, any average teen girl would be if she'd ever been in high school. But it was different with Light. I still didn't quite think he was real, as if he was still an anime character. Having him look at me that way just made me feel strange.

I ended up back in class for the rest of the day, waiting for it to be over so I could go back to my hotel room and sleep. Ryuzaki had said I could be there when Light made his speech for the fake Kira, but I already knew what would happen so I decided to decline and stay in my apartment.

It was a boring experience, I had nothing to do but sit in one corner of my bed with my laptop, randomly browsing the internet. I didn't want to get up, I knew that as soon as I did I would feel the pins and needles that had been gathering for the while I had stayed motionless.

Finally I decided that I should get up and do something productive before I got stuck in one position. I put on a pair of faded jeans and a soft t-shirt on quickly before grabbing my bag and walking over to my door. I didn't really know where I was going, but I figured I'd just take a walk and roam around.

Halfway out of the hotel I met Light as he was coming down from Ryuzaki's floor.

"May! Where are you headed?" That familiar smile was on his face. The one which he used to talk politely but still maintain a level of charm.

"Nowhere in specific, I just felt like roaming around I guess, "I answered, already guessing what he would say next.

"Can I tag along? I'll give you the details of today's work. The fake one sent us a schedule for some reason. On notebook paper", he caught up with me and casually put his hands in his pockets. Ryuk was floating behind him. I pretended not to even notice he was there, like any normal person would have.

"Sure", I replied. I didn't have any other company anyway, might as well make use of the fact that he was offering to take away some of my boredom.

We walked out of the hotel. I started walking around the block like my usual route. He told me what had happened, and the dates listed on the schedule Misa had sent. He pointed out that he thought the second Kira wasn't very bright. The way he put it made me smile with amusement. I wondered if Misa would kill me for spending time with him in the future.

Soon I noticed that I wasn't on my usual "walk" route. Light was walking somewhere and I had unconsciously begun to follow him while we talked. I wasn't worried, there were maps available at any store that I could pick up if I really needed one. If not I could just ask the nearest person. But soon it started to get a little late.

"Where are we anyway? It's going to be a long walk back for me if we keep heading away from the hotel like this", I asked. The sun was starting to set and I didn't want to walk back in the dark.

"Don't worry I'll walk you back. We're close to the supermarket actually, I guess my mom's had me getting the groceries so often I've gotten used to walking here", He said, humor in his voice.

I breathed an inner sigh of relief. I guessed that walking next to Kira would probably be more dangerous than dealing with a few street thugs but it still felt better that Light would walk to his own house in the dark just so he could escort me back. Now that I thought of it, he was very different from most of the guys in my life. I'd had the occasional fling in high school where I'd gotten to second base, but the guys were faceless now. Nothing ever got serious. I'd sometimes invent a crush so that Lena would leave me alone, and then the guys would find out and tell me he felt the same way. In awkward situations like that, I just went along with it. Only because it made me feel in place, like I 'should' be by high school standards. All teen girls were expected to be a certain way. They were expected to be seen holding onto the arm of some guy, enjoying dates with him. Those guys all had bad sides. They were cute, and easy to show off to my friends, but there was always some problem with them. Some of them were annoyingly shy, some didn't know how to make a first move, some were messy, some were stupid in school, none of them were perfect enough. None of them would make me feel daring, like Light did.

After that though, I immediately told myself to shut up. I remembered something my teacher told me once, 'control your thoughts, Mayra, because they will turn into your words'. I needed to stop thinking like this about Light, I needed to stop appreciating the fact that he made me feel special. If I started thinking about it, I'd fall under his spell too.

"…so do you want to come along?"

I completely missed what he was saying, "pardon? I didn't catch that."

He looked at me strangely, "Ryuzaki said I'm going to Aoyama to investigate the first date and time in the schedule, do you want to come with me? I would probably look a lot less suspicious. You probably shouldn't listen to me though, I might just want an excuse to show you off as my girlfriend", he smirked slightly.

"Yeah well I'm sure that will be fun", I said sarcastically. Then I remembered Misa would be seeing him there, "but sure, I'll come. Even if I have to go as your girlfriend", I stuck my tongue out at him slightly.

He clutched his chest and pretended to feel rejected, "Oh the pain! To have one who you just wanted some time with to drastically reject your offers! Such trauma!" Then he smiled back at me, "why not? My hair not shiny enough for you May? If you're not attracted to my supreme beauty then there's some problems with what side of the fence you're on. Maybe I should wear some makeup? Paint my nails?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh definitely, of course that's the reason. Add a strapless dress and I'm all yours" He laughed a little, "and this is why I have a little sister to steal from, your place or mine?"

"Mine, if you want. You can take the closet", I said cheekily.

"Oh look I'm improving in life. The girl who gave me "never in my life" looks just allowed me to sleep in her closet! I might just take you up on that offer you know", he smirked at me, "we're back."

He followed me inside to the hallway my hotel room was in.

"Thanks for walking me back", I turned back to look at him to say it, "and for entertaining me", I said that I little more playfully.

I turned back and suddenly felt his slightly taller presence behind me. Really close behind me. I told my heart to stop it's nervous hammering.

"So do I get a present for doing so?" He whispered behind my ear. I wanted to shiver but stopped myself. It wasn't the time for that. It would never be. I told myself I would never betray L by siding with Kira.

"Hmm? What do you expect then?" I asked daringly. His breath was soft behind my ear but it felt as hot as the flames from a furnace, "What about the traditional kiss a guy is supposed to get a his girlfriend's doorway after a date? That would be nice", I could almost feel him smirking behind me. To surprise him I quickly twisted back and gave him a soft, chaste kiss on the cheek. I lingered a little before a pulled away. Just to humor him, I reminded myself.

"Not the traditional kind, no", I explained quickly. He stood there surprised for a second and I prided myself on it. I opened the door in front of me and gave him a quick smile before disappearing into my room. I locked the door behind me and spent a minute leaning against the back of the door. I pondered over the mess I had gotten into. I had though Light was just fun to be around, intelligent conversation. I didn't know what it was anymore. I had to get all of this under control.

"He's nothing to you May. He doesn't mean anything L is the one you want to help. The one who's side you'll always be on. L is the one you'll help. Help stay alive. Light is your enemy. He wants to kill L. He wants to kill the person you're trying to save", I whispered to myself softly. My words sounded so loud in the silent room. To think of it, I had always lived in silent places. With nothing but the comfortable whirring of technology nearby.

"Pull yourself together May. You need to get out of this trouble! I can't believe you did that back there! What if he thinks…that you think that way…he could use you. I wont let him use you May!"

I felt a little stupid talking to myself like this, but it was a habit of mine. I was unconsciously making up for the presence of someone who would say things like that to me. Replacing their voices with my own so I could get back to reality again.

I sighed and walked over to my bed, slowly laying down in my clothes. I pulled the covers over me, focusing on the absolute silence in the room. Light was my entertainer. I was using him for a friend. That was pretty much it. Anything else…well…only because it felt good.

"Oh la la, I wonder…" Ryuk started laughing like a maniac. Light felt like glaring back at him in annoyance, but he kept it in check.

"She's going with your plan rather quickly isn't she, Light?"

He kept walking along the lonely road, "yes Ryuk she is."

"You aren't falling for her are you? Such an innocent kiss on the cheek and your eyes still took on that look. Light I've seen girls do so much more with you when you stayed out at night sometimes back in high school. You never take on that look."

He grimaced, the stupid shinigami was having way to much fun, "I think I just might allow myself to like her, Ryuk. I hand-picked her for me, remember? I always get my way. It won't be long before she's mine. I know she's perfect for this."

Ryuk's laugh was heard again, "but what would happen if she takes you over instead Light? What if she drags you into her side? What then?"

Light stopped walking and turned to look at his shinigami, annoyance in his eyes, "Ryuk, when she's in my arms, she won't even know what side she's on", he let himself express a satisfied smile.

A figure sat in his usual crouch in the dark surveillance room, slowly pushing a sweet, sugar-covered strawberry into his mouth. He watched as the taller one leaned into her, whispering into his ear. And as the girl turned back and kissed him softly, tilting her head up and exposing her tanned neck. As he froze as her lips met his skin, eyes widening ever so slightly. He knew that normal couples kissed on each other's lips and not their cheeks, but to him it looked somehow more intimate that normal. Between the two most valuable people on his team. For once in his life he felt confused. What was he supposed to think? Light was Kira, he knew that for sure. All his behavioral characteristics lead to that conclusion, and there was little percentage of other. May, however, was suppose to be on his side. It was clearly evident that she knew as surely as he did that Light was Kira. He thought that she wanted to catch Kira too. So why was she acting like this towards him? What was wrong with her? Why was she making him feel so confused? He was always thought that she was _his _tool. That she worked with and for him. Even though she had come in halfway, somehow knowing his real name, he had started to take her for granted. Thinking he could always use her intellect as his weapon.

Another person entered the room.

"What is it, Watari?"

The old man sighed, seeing the scene he was replaying over and over on the surveillance screens.

"Watari what does this mean? I'm confused, I though for sure that May agreed with me on the fact that Light is Kira. So why is she so familer with him?", he put his thumb into his mouth.

Watari looked at him with concern, "Well, sometimes emotions get in the way of such things, L. Light is a charming young man, maybe she just liked being with him, even if she knew he was Kira. Maybe she likes him in that way."

"You mean, he seduced her?"

Watari sighed deeply, "No, not like that. I mean…well it's hard to explain. But I can try. Do you remember Asuma Takashi? The Japanese agent you used a few years ago?"

"Yes, I do remember him."

"Well, the mission you sent him on was to gain intelligence on a woman who was rumored to be secretly dealing drugs, correct?"

"Yes, I believe it was so."

"But he never came back. He turned on the investigation. We later found out that he had fallen in love with that woman. We also found out that she really was trafficking narcotics, and we also found out that Takashi knew exactly what she was doing, even though she never openly told him. Why do you think he had fallen in love with that woman?"

L stared, "because she seduced him of course. She must have convinced him that she was innocent."

"No, you know as well as I do that Takashi knew what she was doing. And she wasn't the type to seduce him. She had nothing to gain from it, she was already engaged to another man. Seducing him would have been illogical. You know that."

"Then what are you trying to say, Watari?"

"That he liked her. He fell in love with her. When a man does something like this, it's usually because he thinks she's made for him. That she's the right one. This doesn't apply to this situation all that clearly of course. My opinion on May and Light is that May is just being daring. Women just like to do that, be daring. It's obvious that she enjoys being around him. There's a certain feeling of rebellion young people get from doing daring things", Watari finished explaining awkwardly.

"I still don't understand", L shoulders drooped.

"You don't need to, not really. Just know that if May thinks Light is Kira, and she really wants to catch Kira, this will mean nothing for the investigation."

Light sighed, "I suppose you are right, Watari. What they do behind their doors is their business. As long as May doesn't join Kira, this shouldn't affect me. Please bring me some more cake."

Watari left to bring the cake, and L was left staring at the screens again. This wouldn't affect him or his case in any way.

But for some reason, it did.

**I hope I didn't make L OOC here, i was just trying to get the entire 'father-son' relationship evident between Watari and L. Tell me what you think about it**

**Review please! Authors love to hear their readers' thoughts on what gonna happen. **


	12. Just For Pretend

**Here's another one to make up for the huge lack of writing for a month. Glad to know you guys are enjoying the story :)**

**I split this so the next one will be up within the hour**

**Chap 12**

As soon as I woke up I told myself it was going to be a wonderful day. I couldn't stand anymore of my own melancholy. I looked over to my iPod and pushed the menu button. It glared the numbers 11:48 at me. I'd woken up pretty late.

I got out of bed and slowly remembered that today was the day we would be going to Aoyama. I smiled a little at that thought. I walked over to the bathroom and proceeded to take a long, warm shower. Exactly what I needed. After I was done I dressed in a loose, flowing grey top which I cinched around my waist with a thick white belt, and white shorts that went halfway down to my knees. I put my hair up in a messy ponytail and stood in front of the mirror, making sure it looked ok. The weather in Aoyama would be rather warm at this time.

I sighed, feeling like I was on my first date, and grabbed a small grey purse. No use for a laptop with me today.

I was at Ryuzaki's floor at exactly two o'clock.

"Ah, May. Come in, I suppose Light's told you of the plans for today?"

I sat down on the couch like usual. Light was on the other couch, early as always. "Yup. I'm going to Aoyama today and looking out for people with notebooks right?"

Ryuzaki took a bite of his cake, "yes that's right. Please blend in, though you probably won't have much trouble with that part", his eyes scanned my outfit, "anyway, you're probably going to pretend to be Light's girlfriend. Play the part well."

I nodded, "when does the note say to be at Aoyama?"

He hesitated, "well, it says "exchanging notebooks with a friend in Aoyama at 5 o'clock, but it would be suspicious to arrive exactly at the time, so I suggest you start right away. Just roam around there for a while", for some reason he seemed hesitant to say that. I processed the information, but I couldn't think of any logical reason that explained it.

On the other hand, Chief Yagami was sitting on the desk at the other side of the room. I shivered as I felt the death-glares he directed towards me. Light noticed and looked at me, amused, and then got a devious look in his eyes.

"Well then let's go, sweetheart. We don't want to miss out on any alone time do we?"

Chief Yagami's glare grew stronger for every word Light said. I inwardly gulped. I'd be getting the parent-of-boyfriend talk any day now…

Ryuzaki noticed this, but just seemed amused.

I followed Light out of the room and into the elevator.

"Ever been to Aoyama before?" Light asked.

"No…it's my first time in Japan actually. I've been here when I was three, I think, but I don't remember any of it. Have you?"

"Yes, actually. I went there lots of times with my friends. It's a fun tourist place, lots of attractions and parks and stuff like that", Light explained, "I'll show you around, you'll like it."

We stepped out of the building and I followed Light to the train station. He knew exactly which train to take. However, I had a little bit of trouble asking the man at the ticket booth for a ticket since I didn't know Japanese. Light watched with amusement for a while and then decided to save me and translated. He took the train often so he already had a monthly pass for it.

"People are starting to stare aren't they?" Light asked, smirking. I looked around, it was true. People were looking my way pretty often.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Foreigners usually stay near the tourist places, they never take the public transport unless they come here on a company transfer. It's rare to see a foreign girl in a Japanese train station", he explained. His arm found it's way around me and he pulled me closer, "not that it's a bad thing. I get to show you off. I hope one of my friends is here, then he can go back and tell everyone THE Light Yagami is taken", his hand ran up and down against my arm.

"Don't get too close. It's just for today", I joked back at him.

His face took on a pondering look, "I wonder…"

I punched him lightly in the arm and he let out a small laugh. The train arrived soon. Light kept his arm around my shoulders so I wouldn't lose him in the crowd of people. It was almost worse than taking a bus. Almost.

Once we were on the train, we had to stand. There were way too many people to even think of getting a seat. I heard the conductor shout something in Japanese and everyone seemed to move. I looked up questioningly at Light. He leaned down to my ear, "he says to move back to make room."

I nodded and stepped backward until there was no more space between me and the lady behind me. It was really crowded. Then I looked for a bar to hold onto. I found none.

"Hey, there's always me", Light said, noticing I didn't have a bar to hold onto for the ride. His hand was securely on the bar hold behind him. I hesitated a moment before letting my arms wrap around his arm, my fingers clutching his shirt.

The rest of the train ride was silent. Well, at least between us. I quickly realized that nothing I said would be heard over the noise of the train, and stayed quiet.

A lot was going on in my mind. The main subject being Misa.

_If I see any other girl with you, I'll…I'll kill them!_

If Misa saw me like this with Light, she would definitely jump to that conclusion. I told myself to think of possible scenarios:

1. Misa realizes that Kira is taken and so she exhibits a strictly professional relationship with him, aiding Kira like her original plan.

2. Misa falls in love with Light and trys to be his girlfriend anyway, thinking Light would cheat on me with her.

3. Misa falls in love with Light and kills me instantly.

It wasn't looking too good for me. She wasn't the type to go for the first possibility, but there was still a good chance that she would do the second. Before she actually met Light, Misa only loved Kira. She only wanted Light after she looked him up online and then went to his house.

The rest of my thoughts were droned out with the sound of the train announcing that we had arrived. I didn't understand the Japanese that was spoken, but I heard the female voice say Aoyama.

Proving me right, Light lead me out of the train. Stepping onto the platform was pure freedom. The train had been seriously clammy and hot.

"Welcome to Aoyama, May", Light turned to me. His arm slunk back around my shoulder, "play along a little, consider it practice for when we know Kira might be here."

I decided to humor him and lean into him a little, "where are we going?"

I looked up to see him smirking, "anywhere couples would usually go of course. Where would you like to go?"

I thought for a moment, "show me around."

"My, what a demanding girlfriend, not even a 'please'", he smiled and pulled me in another direction, "why don't we go shopping?"

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "I've never had a _guy _suggest that before."

He pretended to ignore it and lead me towards the large shopping district.

At first, I thought I was in heaven. It was a shopping paradise. Light noticed my excitement, "all girls are the same…come on this way." He lead me to an accessories store, and we walked in. I felt a weight on my head. Light took his hands away form my head and I reached up to feel something made of cloth on my head.

"Look", Light's hands took mine off my head and he pointed to a mirror. It was a hair bow with a huge but cute grey ribbon on top, I couldn't help but smile. Light was smirking beside me.

"It looks cute on you", he waved at the girl standing at the counter and pointed to the accessory in my hair, "We'll take this", he walked over and put a bill into her hand. She put it away, blushing. When he turned away from her she looked at me with a slightly curious but sad gaze. When Light came over I put my arm through his, smirking back at the girl. _He had his uses…_

We roamed around past a few more shops.

"You really know your way around here don't you?" I asked him. He nodded back absentmindedly, then started leading me towards another store. I looked at him curiously, "Are you a fashion adviser? Because trust me, you're wasted as a police officer. You could be making tons of money showing girls what looks best on them", I joked.

"I suppose I'm good at that, aren't I?" He glanced at me. Suddenly we heard another voice, "Light! Is that you?"

We turned to see a two guys walking toward us. There was a girl with them, with bleached white hair.

"Keita! Ryohei! And Yukari, haven't seen you guys in a long time! Speak in English for my girlfriend's sake would you?" Light smiled at them, then looked to me, "they're my friends from highschool. You'll like them."

I nodded to him and turned to his friends, giving them a smile.

"Girlfriend? What's this girl made of because I swear it needs to be fairy dust if she can hold that title for long", the girl, Yukari, waved at me, "so what's your name?"

"My name's Mayra. Nice to meet you", I looked over to the other guys, "so you guys are Light's high school friends?"

"Yup, we grew up with this smart-aleck. I've always wondered what it would be like to tell Light's girlfriend a few of his embarrassing secrets…" the guy laughed, "anyway, I'm Keita, and hot-head here is Ryohei. I knew Light didn't settle for less but what did he do, steal you from a tourist guide? Or did you guys come to Japan so you could meet his parents before he kisses the bride?" I grimaced inwardly, imagining Light's parents reacting to that.

Light seemed to catch on, "well you see, if I ever do there's no way in hell I'd tell them. They'd murder her in cold blood, they don't really approve of her."

Keita laughed, "well anyway, I was planning a kind of reunion. Well, I have to call it that since I need a reason to invite people over while my parents are away, but it's just a party for no reason. Want to come? You can bring your girlfriend too. We like her. Except for Yukari. Yukari wants to kill her."

Yukari elbowed him in the stomach. Light laughed, "of course I'm coming, and I'm bringing May too, even if I have to drag her along. And Yukari can have lots of fun with her."

"Where's my say?" I asked playfully.

"You don't have a say when you're with Light", Ryohei advised, amused.

"Alright then, would you like to go, May?" Light asked.

"Sure, why not", I replied.

"Alright then, you know where my house is!" Keita and his friends walked away, Yukari hanging onto his arm possessively.

"Never thought you would make friends with people like them. I thought your friends would be boring", I teased. Light grimaced, "no one's boring in high school, May. At least you liked them."

He seemed to pause for a second and then started pulling me off in a direction. "Where are we going?" I asked. "Wait and see", he didn't turn back.

Soon we were standing inside a clothes store. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He looked at me and stood there analyzing me for a few seconds. Running his eyes up and down.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Pink", he said.

"Eh?"

"Pink."

I followed him and he handed me a dress. It was folded around his arm so I didn't see it the design of the dress.

"Go try it on", he pushed me towards the change room. I stepped in and held the dress straight. It actually looked nice. It was a deep fuchsia color, and cinched at the waist with a thick black belt. It had small sleeves that squared off before they turned into actual sleeves, and the neckline wasn't too low. I stripped and tried it on.

I immediately noticed a problem.

If I dropped something in this dress, it would be better to leave it on the ground.

The bottom of the dress barely reached halfway down to my knee.

Well, at least he knew the basics of fashion, chest **or **legs.

I stepped out of the changing room and Light immediately saw me and smiled, "perfect! It's just right, you're wearing that to the party."

"Hold on, wait. This dress is too short. I wont be able to move around a lot", I paused him in his fashion-adviser thinking.

"Well it accents your legs wonderfully. And the color matches you skin perfectly. And it won't show your underwear if you bend over, just a little up your leg", his smirk didn't leave his face as he said it. I awkwardly reminded myself that I was somehow having this conversation with a guy. It was true though, the dress really was pretty. I sighed, why did I have to be a slave to clothing now of all times?

"Alright I'll wear it", I changed back and went over to the front to buy it. I'd seen Light subtly attempt to take it from me and pay for it but that was more than I was letting myself be ok with. The dress was expensive, but then again, I had lots of cash to blow.

I handed the bag to Light and we left the store, his arm around me again. I noticed Ryuk keeping his distance, he must've been told not to stick so close. I lifted Light's arm to check his watch, it was 4:37.

"Something wrong?" He asked as I dropped his arm.

"Almost five. The second Kira's probably looking out for the real one", I explained, "we should cover a lot of ground."

He nodded and we walked around the city for the next thirty minutes, my hand loosely in his. It was back to business now. I needed to keep a look out for Misa. She would be here in a small black wig, in…

The Note Blue! How could I forget? In the anime, she had been sitting in the jazz club, the Note Blue. I'd been to that club in New York a few times. I had to make sure we would go past it. But then again Light already knew about it, he'd researched it and found the club, knowing the second Kira probably planned it. I wondered if I could say anything about it.

"Light, there's a club here called the Note Blue right? Can we go past it? It wouldn't be smart to actually go inside but we need to walk past it. It might have something to do with the second Kira, the word notebook is coming up too often."

For a split second Light looked a little surprised, "actually I was thinking the same thing. I did some research on Aoyama and I found out about the club. You're right, 'notebook' and 'note' are coming up too often, it's a little suspicious."

I decided to push a little farther, "so do you think Kira has something to do with notebooks? I mean, the first and second Kira obviously have the same ability to kill, and the voice analysis that we ran on the second Kira's message showed that he didn't stress the word 'notebook'. That could only mean that it wasn't a code word. He didn't need to stress it to convey the coded message he was trying to put out. There's a likely chance that it wasn't a code, that he really was speaking about a notebook."

Light didn't stop walking, and kept his pace. The emotionless mask was back on. I could barely tell he was even affected, "that really is interesting. I find no disturbance in that theory, it could be possible. We should go tell Ryuzaki about it, does he know?"

I suddenly regretted saying that, I was in dangerous territory now, if he was asking so obviously if Ryuzaki suspected it or not. There was only one way to wriggle myself out of it, "no, he doesn't know. I wanted to get an opinion on it, but I didn't want to tell Ryuzaki. He probably has it figured out already, but I'm not here to be his analyst, I'm here to catch Kira myself. I just wanted to make use of the fact that the world's greatest detective would have many more resources and contacts than a civilian", I swore I could feel his shoulders sink in slight relief, "what about you?"

He smiled, "well, I'm planning to be part of the police force after all, I think I'll stick with him. I won't tell him your conclusions though, if you're worried about that. You can use me for opinions any time."

I turned forward again, he wanted me to tell him what I thought so he would know exactly how far I was in the investigation. "thanks."

"Anytime", he stopped, "we're here. The entrance of the Note Blue is right over there on the other side. Lets wait on the bench for a little while." He sat down on a nearby bench where we could keep an eye on the entrance of the club and the small bar outside where I knew Misa would be sitting in disguise. I sat down next to him and he looped his arm through mine.


	13. Friend? Maybe

**Next one up. I actually wrote this and the last one together and then split them into two, since it ended up with 6,ooo words. I like to keep chapters somewhere around the same length. Oh and about L in chapter 11, i was kind of trying to portray that L didn't know why she would like someone she knew was Kira. I'm pretty sure L would know about love and hormones, but he has a hard time thinking about how someone could like a person they obviously viewed as an enemy. **

**Sorry this one is a little short, but thank you guys for all the reviews! **

**Chap 13**

We remained silent for a few minutes, before he broke the silence, "a notebook…how could that be used? Maybe as a record? What are your thoughts about it?"

I felt bad for even bringing my 'theory' up. I could hear Ryuk laughing behind him. Light was probably a little more serious now, I guessed I wouldn't be seeing the carefree 'innocent' Light for the rest of the day now that I had let that slip. I thought over my response, "honestly I'm not sure. There's a lot of ways notebooks could be used in the context of death. In some cultures, it's belived that a person's life is written down in a book and god must read it to judge whether they go to heaven or hell. I still strongly believe that Kira is a human like the rest of us, but maybe he uses notebooks to record his killings?"

Light pondered over it for a second, "that's interesting too. Let me know if you have any more thoughts about it."

I winced. Yup, I'm in a hole now. A deep one. That I dug myself into. I looked back at the Note Blue and almost widened my eyes when I noticed the petit girl with a small black bob haircut sitting there. She was staring this way. Right at us.

"Light can we go get something to eat? Lunch was four hous ago and I'm hungry again", I lowered my voice, "and besides, there are two people that won't stop looking at us."

He looked towards me, interested, and leaned down to whisper into my ear, "who? Describe them."

I used Misa for one of them and made up the other, "well one of them looks like a salary man. He's standing right outside the Gucci store and keeps checking his watch. I think he might be waiting for someone. He's holding a suitcase. A car just stopped in front of him and he went into it. The second is a girl, sitting in the café outside the Note Blue. She has short black hair in a bob and she's dressed in a small jean skirt and a tight tank top. She's sitting at a café table by herself, and she hasn't stopped looking at us for a while. She's still there", I whispered back into his ear. An old couple nearby saw us and gave us a smile, thinking we were whispering sweet stuff. I smiled back at them and tried to look like I was blushing.

Light stood up and pulled me up too, "ok then, let's get something to eat. I'm pretty hungry too." I followed him to a small fast food place away from the bench we'd been sitting on.

"How old did the girl look?" He asked me, once we had ordered. I pretended to think, "maybe around 17, she's might still be in high school. I couldn't see her features well so I may not be a good judge of age."

"Well, if she looks young, then it might be normal for her to watch us, since we were pretending to be a couple and high school students are always suffering from break-ups and the such. What about the salary man?"

"He had a medium build and short black hair. He was wearing grey slack with a blue dress shirt tucked into them, and a grey coat. He looked to be around thirty, or maybe a little older. We weren't close enough for me to see if he had a ring or not, but he could have been married. Right before I pointed him out to you, a silver car came and picked him up. He got in and it drove away", I explained exactly what I'd seen happen to some random guy who had been around. He hadn't been looking at us, but he was the type of person Light would expect.

We finished eating pretty quickly. It was a fast food place anyway, we weren't supposed to stay in one place for too long according to Ryuzaki.

"Something on your mind?" Light asked after a few seconds of silence.

"No, not really", I told him. That familiar smile crept up onto his face, "but this is horrible! I'm letting my girlfriend experience an entire five seconds of boredom! And on our very first date too! Do you need some cheering up? I know a really nice park close to here."

"Well as long as we stay in Aoyama I think our mission is accomplished, sure", we stood up and Light put his arm back around me. This time around my waist. I almost sighed, why did typical couples have to be so touchy-feely? Not that I minded that much…

We came to a small park. Trees proudly showed off their beautiful golden ginkgo leaves, and it was so peaceful, away from the busy city. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders from behind and a chin rest on my other shoulder.

"Isn't it pretty? Aoyama doesn't have many natural places like this, but here is one of the most peaceful places in the country in my opinion", he spoke into my ear. I really did like it, the weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful. It really was the kind of place I would go for a first date.

We spent a few seconds in silence. Then I caught the time on Light's watch. It said 6:57. "Well it's getting late. I think your dad telepathetically instructed me to drag you back before 7:00. Might not work now", I said, a little regretfully.

"My dad won't mind, really. He likes you, you know. He may not let it on but he has some kind of grudging respect for you. Being around him for so long taught me that much."

"…not making things any easier for me Light."

I could imagine him smirking even though he was behind me, "why don't we just forget about that. I'm having too much fun. Trust me, he worships every report card I ever bring home, he doesn't care about my other interests. Why do you want to go back? You don't want to take the chance to turn into my real girlfriend?"

I had the perfect answer for that, "well apparently you're Kira. I'm not too friendly with the idea of being Kira's girlfriend. I'm afraid your on your own here", I added a small laugh.

He picked up on it immediately, "so if I wasn't Kira you'd fall for me?"

"Geez why not? Personal fashion adviser, personal calculator, personal dictionary, and full-time personal entertainer put together into one guy who's only problem is deciding which side of the fence he's on", I said back playfully.

"I can get rid of those fence-doubts in your mind you know. Hang out with me more and you'll see."

"Are you telling me not to hang out with you?"

We laughed. The sound echoed into the evening sky.

"Do you want to spend the night in a club instead of going back? Let's face it, we'll be bored to death if we go back and get forced to do paperwork", I could feel Light's arms tighten around my shoulders, "well actually I'll have to do paperwork and you'll be sitting on that couch with your laptop risking full body paralysis with your stillness."

"Wouldn't that be a little irresponsible? I don't know about you, but I want to maintain a good work relationship with L. He might lose his trust in me if he sees me doing things that wouldn't represent a responsible and smart student."

He sighed, "you're right about that. We should go back. I'll have another day being your pretend boyfriend anyway, at Keita's party. I'll even come early to help get you prepared if you like."

I laughed, "you mean you're a makeup and hair artist too now?"

"Not really…but it can't be that hard can it? All I need is a local cosmetology course and I'll be ready to prepare girls for the runway. In style, too", he laughed with me.

Eventually we had to leave. He kept his hand in mine.

"I don't think the Second Kira will be around anymore", I said pointedly. He gave me a dramatic sigh, "ah well, I had fun". He took his hand out of mine and put it in his pocket. I inwardly smiled. I felt more like we were friends now. Friends on a vacation together, having fun and ignoring the world. It reminded me of my days with Lena. Surprisingly, I didn't ache with sadness when I thought about how long it had been since I saw her. I'd been so used to seeing her every day. Coming up to my apartment to laze around and play the Wii with me. Dragging me off to the park and pointing out all the hot guys on the way. Explaining my homework to me whenever I had a brain ache. Standing in the cafeteria line with me. Helping me get ready for parties. Having sleepovers with lipstick-sword fights.

Light was just beginning to fill in the gap. We did different things together than I had done with Lena, but he was great company. I kind of understood why so many people fell under his spell. Now that I knew everything about how he worked his spell, I knew I could never completely fall under it too.

We were silent the entire train ride back. It was rush hour, everyone was just coming home from work, so it was more crowded than usual. This time, I got my own bar to hold on though.

The sun began to set at a peaceful time. We made it back to the hotel at around eight, and I could tell Chief Yagami would be fuming even before I walked into the room. He was.

"May, Light, you're back. How was it? Did you two see anyone suspicious?" Ryuzaki asked as soon as we stepped in.

Light explained about the two people who had been watching us. I went over to sit on the couch. Today felt like a dream. Like it couldn't be real. It was hard to think someone as perfect as Light existed. To get my mind off the topic, I looked over at L, sitting in his crouch on the swivel chair. Someone who never had many friends through his childhood. Someone who had never experienced the real fun people could have. But he still saved the world, one mission at a time. With only Watari to guide him. He didn't want the fame, the money, the women, even though they would all come to him if he went public. He stayed modestly behind the curtains, letting people know only that he existed. For a moment I felt an immense amount of pride at being recognized by him. He really was amazing…

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Chief Yagami, Matsuda, and Aizawa left, finished with the investigation for the day. L bid them goodbye. Light and I stayed in the apartment.

"So whatcha gonna do now Light? You still don't know who the second Kira is do you?" Ryuk let out a peal of laughter and looked my way. I pretended I didn't know he was there. Light showed the slightest hint of annoyment.

"Nature calls, Ryuzaki. I'll be back in a couple of seconds", Light stood up to leave for the bathroom, probably going to talk with Ryuk as well. I guessed he suspected that Ryuk knows something he didn't.

"Would you like some cake May?" Ryuzaki asked absentmindedly.

I hesitated, "no, it's all right. I don't feel like eating sweets right now."

"May…?"

"Yes?"

"If I die in the next week Light is Kira."

I let a little of my surprise show, only because his back was turned to me. It just seemed a little sudden.

"I'm pretty sure Light is Kira whether you die in the week or not, but don't worry, I'll remember that", I assured him. He turned to give me a satisfied glance, then went back to his work.

Light returned and L stepped out of the chair.

"I think I will close the investigation for today. I'm not sure yet if the Kira's have made contact or not, but if what I think will happen does, then I'll know for sure", we knew a dismissal when we heard one, so Light and I waved goodbye to him and Watari and left the floor. I noticed Light following me.

"Why don't you go the other way? A lot easier to get out of the building isn't it?" I asked him.

"I'm gracing you with the gift of my presence. Don't take such valuable things lightly", he told me playfully. We came to my door and I stopped to look back at him.

"Well thank you for the gift of your presence. Said presence may get lose now", I said back, equally playfully. He smirked, "Oh? But I really wanted to return your favor, is that so bad?"

He leaned down and kissed me on my cheek, his hands still in his pockets. I couldn't help but think for a second that it should be illegal to be that cool. Then I thought about how ironic it was that the lips laying that friendly kiss on my cheek would be kissing the second Kira this very evening.

He pulled back and waved, "see you later May." I waved back cheerfully and went into my room.

_He couldn't do it. For some reason, the topics slipped out of his mind the moment he saw that door. It had been the fourth time, and it was already past midnight. He told himself that no normal person would be awake at this time, and that it was entirely useless. Maybe he needed to actually get some sleep._

_This time, he'd set out of his floor on the hotel telling himself all the questions he had to ask her. About the investigation. He had an entire list. But now his mind was blank and he couldn't even bring his fingers up to knock on the door._

_He'd been coming up to May's room a few times. Each time, he wasn't able to actually do anything, even though he spent time coming up with a list of things to ask her the last time. Convincing himself that he had a valid reason to visit her. He sighed, giving up, and turned around, walking back to the elevator that would take him to his floor. Back to the safety of Watari and cake and files. Back to the place that he didn't need to make up reasons to go to._

**Reviews and constructive criticism are highly appreciated**


	14. Who Does he Suspect?

**Chapter 14**

"_I'm a friend of his, I came to return his notebook."_

Light led the girl up to his room. She had come over in the evening, claiming she was the second Kira… this was good, so far. It was stupid of her to make her move so quickly but he could make use of her if she was willing enough. Hell he'd make use of her either way, there was no way he could let another person with Kira's powers roam around.

Her shinigami was taller than Ryuk, with long arms. She'd said her name was Rem. They talked for a while before she suddenly asked the question that Light would later dread.

"I found you in Aoyama! Who was that girl you were with?" Misa looked up at him with eyes trained to get whatever they wanted. He inwardly cringed, she didn't seem like the type to take the truth well, but it would cause disturbance later if he didn't tell her.

"Well, she was pretending to be my girlfriend while we scouted out the first place in the diary", he explained carefully.

She suddenly burst out into a huge grin, "oh then it's alright if I kill her isn't it? I'm sorry Light, but I don't like it when there are other girls with you. I want to be your only girlfriend, I don't like sharing either."

Light inwardly frowned, he couldn't lose May this easily. Maybe he'd let her die if he had to, but later. May was only a pawn now, but she had the potential to be his queen in the future. "No, you're not allowed to kill her."

She pouted, "why not? I'm ten times cuter then her! She's ok I guess but I'm better!"

She got this thing that you don't have, it's called a brain, Light thought to himself. "Maybe, but you still can't kill her. I'll kill you if you do", he threatened. Suddenly the shinigami stepped in between.

"If you lay a hand on Misa, I will write your name in my death note", she stated. Light frowned.

"Doesn't that mean you'd die?" Misa asked softly.

"I'm not supposed to let you get killed", Rem replied.

"Fine. I won't kill you. But I'll hate you for the rest of my life. You don't want that do you?"

Misa looked at him sadly, then slightly angrily, "what does she mean to you! I can mean so much more! Just ditch her! I don't care about how many girls you've been with because I love you!"

Light felt the pangs of irritation inside, she didn't give up did she?

"Promise me you'll never be with her again!" Misa demanded.

"I can't promise that", Light replied, putting some sadness into his voice. He had a strategy now. There was only one way to make sure that Misa didn't kill her and he would use it properly.

"Why can't you? I want to be your girlfriend! I'm better than her, and I'm a Kira too! I could help you!"

Light let out a deep sigh and immediately felt satisfied on how sad he had made it sound, he put his head into his hands and fisted them against his eyes. As if he had been scorned by the world.

"Misa, you can't kill her. I can't leave her because…because I love her."

I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed at the unholy hour of six in the morning. I had university today too. This time I had only one class, Algorithms and Data Structures. I was looking forward to it, really. There was something about classrooms and computers that felt oddly comforting.

L offered me a ride to the university again when I saw him in the lobby. The ride was mainly silent, until he started talking.

"May, was there anything else about the visit to Aoyama that you noticed? Since our main suspect is Light, I had the feeling you could have been hiding something when the two of you gave your report", he thumb was in his mouth again and he was looking at me, contemplating.

I wondered what I should say. If I didn't tell him something he would find interesting, he would start suspecting me again. That was the last thing I wanted to happen after the last interrogation session. The one thing I knew was that there was no way I was telling him I was going on a date with Kira to his friend's party today.

"Well, actually, Light came to the same conclusion as me when we were looking for where the second Kira might be. He thought that the term "notebook" or "note" was coming up too often. In the second Kira's message, and then in the diary. So he concluded that the term "notebook" might be more literal then we thought. When I mentioned it to him, he immediately seemed to suspect me of something because he became a little self-protective in that moment. Then he loosened up and told me that maybe Kira wrote the names of his victims in a notebook, or something in that context", I improvised. I guessed he had already had this conversation with Light. Light obviously wouldn't mention anything about our notebook conversation so hopefully that would turn all the suspicion back on him.

"I see… That's very interesting. That Kira would write names in a notebook to record his victims. He turned to face me again, "May, Light is Kira. His subconscious behavioral aspects are all the proof I need. However, the general public does not see things as I do, therefore I need a different kind of proof to successfully convict him", L replied. I almost let my shock show for a second. He wasn't trying to suspect me, he was trying to get me completely on his side! If I agreed to eagerly, it would be suspicious, but if hesitated…

"There's no doubt in my mind about that, but I think this won't be as easy as making him say something only Kira would know and throwing him in a jail. We need to find out exactly how Kira kills. Then we can find out how Light in involved with all of this, and how he kills. Remember who the enemy is, something could be using him to "cleanse" the world of crime", I tried to convey the idea of Light being used by someone, just to provide something from the contrary to make it seem like I wasn't immediately hanging on.

"That may be true, and it's starting to look like it, but don't be fooled. No matter how I look at it, Light's consciousness is killing criminals. What could we do if he killed by just thinking of the person's name and face? I've been talking to specialists from across the world and no one can think of a biological weapon that causes this. Or anything, for that matter, that causes humans to die of heart attacks. It simply does not exist, and if it did, a high school student would not be the one to think of it."

I was curious to know more, "but is there a possibility that there is one? That all of this could be a conspiracy to scare people from committing acts of crime? Could something like that exist?"

His eyes closed slightly, he was deep in thought.

"I considered that already, May. There are only two ways a person could die of a heart attack. The first is if there is a plaque buildup in a coronary artery. This usually happens over time, and causes dead heart muscle that spreads slowly. It can be ruled out since the victims die rather quickly, and most of them are quite young. They die because of the second reason. A spasm. A coronary artery, or even more than one, suddenly spasms and closes off completely, cutting blood flow to the heart. Reasons for this are many, stress, unhealthy habits, smoking sometimes. But it never happens so…quickly. It's like some invisible force is forcefully cutting off blood to the heart, causing the victims to die. I've spoken to various cardiologists and hear surgeons and every one of them has said the same thing, it's not possible to cause something like this. We can only assume that Kira has acquired a special power that allows him to kill somehow using a face and a name", he finished dejectedly.

When I was watching the anime, I had always wondered why no one considered something like a bio weapon that causes heart attacks, but now I knew L had it all figured out. I smiled to myself, Lena had given me almost the same explanation as L when I had suggested it to her. I decided to probe further.

"But if he had this power, why does he need a name and a face?"

L contemplated it, "I wondered about that as well. At first I thought he was just making up a weakness, but if that was true he would have killed me already. He's already shown by killing Lind L Taylor that he destroys everything that gets in his way. Why doesn't he kill me? Or you, for that matter? You have your name registered in the university records, why doesn't he kill you?"

I winced a little at that, if L ever found out that had been a fake last name, I would go down for sure.

"Well, there have been many more victims, I'll have to request him to assist in the filing again today", he went on. Suddenly there was silence. "Filing….filing…" his eyes went a little wide, "May, what do we do when we're filing?"

He knew the answer to that, but he was probably just making me say it out loud to help his train of thought. "We take the information of the victims who have died so far and sort them by age group, gender, and level of crime. Then we stack them away in the cabinet so we have a secure list of every criminal who has ever died. A record of the information is stored in your personal laptop and it works 24/7 to explore trend sets and any similarities or preferences that may have shown up in the killing patte-"

"That's it! That's what we do isn't it? And to store this data, there are two main aspects that we need, the victim's name and face! Kira takes the same things. The purpose we need a name and a face is to confirm the victim's _identity_! Maybe Kira really doesn't need a name and a face to kill, but an identity. If Kira stood in front of someone and talked to them, he would be able to kill them, but if Kira wasn't an actual human, he would need identities to kill. Without them, he wouldn't know who to kill. Light could be the one getting this information and recording them, in a _"notebook"_. Then this unknown entity would bring the person's death", he put his thumb back in his mouth, "or, at least, that's a theory."

I was impressed. He had put it in different words but truly, L had nailed it. That was exactly what Light was really doing, he was writing names down in the death note and then some entity that corresponded with the death note made the death of the victim happen. I had never thought of it that way, but it could be true. I started to worry about the fact that L was picking up on things too early, but I pushed those thoughts down. I wasn't here to watch anymore, I was here to keep L alive. Why? Because this wasn't an anime. It was my world and no Kira was going to screw it up.

Algorithms an Data Structures was going to be my favorite course. I liked the challenge, To Oh lived up to it's tough name. It's curriculum for my major was on a whole new level, not boring in the least. When it was done, I hurried back to my locker and grabbed my purse, planning on heading to the same lunch place as last time where we decided we would meet. I had become rather famous throughout the university, one of the "three". Everyone had started talking about us. The rich, creepy genius who dressed poor but rode home in a limousine every day, the amazingly hot poster-student who's smile made you fall in love, and me. The mysterious foreign girl who aced the entrance exam and whizzed through all her classes. I didn't mind the attention, at least they didn't see me as a nerd.

Halfway there, my heart almost stopped. _That's right…the photoshoot! _The girl with the head of shining blond hair turned and spotted me immediately. For a second I saw the hatred in her eyes, but it was gone when she waved at me and rushed over. I managed to control the look on my face to smile at her curiously.

"Hi! OMG I can't believe you're actually here! You may not know me but I'm your friend's girlfriend! My name is Misa Misa…then again you might know me cause I'm almost famous, I'm a model you see. My photoshoot is nearby and I came here to see my boyfriend but I was so surprised when I saw you too! We should get to know each other, any friend of Light is a friend of mine", she said enthusiastically. I tried to keep up to the image she had seen in Aoyama. For once, I could feel the claws of fear slowly creeping into me.

"Light? You're his girlfriend? Nice to meet you my name is May. I'm a student here. I…didn't know he had a girlfriend", I said softly. The only way I could get away with my life was to let her have some satisfaction.

"Yeah, we met a while ago and it was love at first sight! He was so dreamy and our first date was so romantic! I just know he's the one", she boasted just like I knew she would. I tried to look a little hurt so that I could add to her superiority. I hated doing it, but it was the only way out.

"Oh, that's nice. He's alright I guess…" I replied. She immediately beamed, "so what about you? Anyone you've got it for? I want to get to all of Light's friends", she really was horrible at acting. Too dramatic. I could see her hatred as plain as day, could she really be this jealous?

"No, nothing like that really. Not me", I told her, smiling a little sadly. She had obviously asked Light about me earlier when she went to his house. What had he told her to make her so mad at me? Surely he had just said that I was pretending to be his girlfriend…

I was saved by the voice behind me.

"Misa? What are you doing here?" Light's incredulous voice said, seeing Misa with me. She immediately ran over and clung to his arm, "oh Light I really wanted to see you! My photo shoot was nearby so I thought I'd come by to visit."

"I see, well Misa you should probably head back now, you don't want to keep your manager waiting", Light gave me a weird look that tried to convey the words 'I'll explain later'. I gave him a small smile, "no need to be so embarrassed Light."

"That's right, no need to be embarrassed", L said, coming up from behind him, "Light, you're a lucky guy…"

There was a little bit of silence before L suddenly said how he had been reading Misa's magazines. I groaned at the thought. Everything after that happened like in the anime. Then Misa left, back to her photoshoot.

Light waved and walked away, taking his phone out of his pocket slowly. I knew exactly what expression he was wearing in that moment. He dialed the number on the phone, and immediately I heard a ring in L's pocket beside me. I felt like collapsing with relief. He had suspected Misa like he was supposed to.

Light turned around and stared at L in unconcealed annoyance. He walked over to take the cell phone. I could hear him dialing again in the distance.

"Hello?" L said again. Light ended up coming back for Misa's other cell.

"I'm sorry to say that Misa Misa has been apprehended in suspicion of being the second Kira. I'm sure you're sorry to hear it, Light", L told him. Light smiled brightly, "I'm rather surprised, but it's fine. I felt a little guilty anyway, I'm don't really like her in that way but there's no way I'm saying that around her."

"Alright then. I suppose we've got a few more minutes of lunch. Let's hurry so we don't end up late for class", L suggested.

Unnecessary to say, lunch was filled with tension. Light seemed a little more resigned now, but I could tell he was feeling threatened with all the strange looks L was giving up.

"So how did you and Misa meet?" L finally asked. Before anyone could say anything more, we heard shouts from the table next to us. A small container of soy sauce came flying at us and I managed to avoid it by millimeters. The glass container hit Light in the arm.

"What's happening?" I asked, my eyes a little wide. Some of the other student's from the other tables got up and rushed to leave the restaurant. The waiters were rushing to get everyone to pay their bills before they rushed out, unsuccessfully.

"It seems someone's had a disagreement. I'd noticed that the two people at that table had been dealing some type of drug as we were sitting here. I suggest the two of you leave immediately. I'll call Watari and have him bring someone who can handle the situation", L told us, pointing to the door.

"Come on May", Light grabbed my wrist and I stumbled after him through the crowd of people trying to get out. I supposed the people back there had weapons of some type for there to be this much chaos. I followed Light out of the place and we kept running until we reached a small fountain that was near the university.

"That was unexpected", I commented.

"It sure was…" Light frowned at me for a second. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I guess I feel a little guilty about Misa. L seems to have not been telling me hi suspicions of her so I can't really believe she's Kira. On the other hand, I feel bad for leading her on like that", he explained. I knew exactly where he was going with it.

"Leading her on?" I asked in mock innocence. He nodded slowly, "she told me that she liked me, and I thought that I'd try it. But that happened a while ago. I figured I wasn't all that interested in her, she just wasn't my type. But she said she loved me, and I think I'm too nice for my own good", he said. I nodded, "I figured. But anyway, we should be getting to class."

"I'll see you today evening. Don't forget it's Keita's party. I'll try to come around a little earlier so you'd better be ready on time", he warned playfully. I smiled back, "of course". I waved goodbye and walked back into the university.


	15. Drunken Murder

**Chapter 15**

"Anything so far?" I asked, stepping into the familiar room.

"No suspicious behavior at all, actually. She's remained perfectly quiet. We can hear only her breathing", L replied.

I sighed. I'd just come back from uni and gone straight to L's floor. Misa was being held for interrogation, and the poor girl looked harried beyond belief. Someone like Misa was not meant for this. Her entire body would be numb by know. Just imagining the pins and needles she would get when she tried to move next made me shiver.

"Well I think I'm going back now. Call me if anything happens", I shrugged and grabbed my purse, I needed to head back to get ready for the party in the evening.

When I got to my room, the fresh smell of my potpourri scent-candle reached me. I took a long, hot shower. When I came out in my bathrobe, Mozart's sonata for two pianos started playing. I picked up my Android and unlocked it, putting it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello my ass what the hell happened to you?"

I winced, and then melted with guilt. It was Lena.

"Hey, um…long time no speak, I guess. I'm sorry…" I said apologetically.

"So what's with your sick relative? Is he dying or what you've been gone for a long time. I'm deciding to transfer over just to come kick you", she almost yelled.

"I'm really sorry Lena…wait a minute did you just say "transfer over"? What's with that?"

"Don't avoid the topic, I thought we were besties. Are you one of those people that don't care for childish stuff like that anymore? I'm hurt May. HURT."

I sighed, "well, actually I'm living here for the short term. In a hotel. I'm really sorry but I can't tell you the real reason I came here, it's private. I have to stay here for a while longer to finish something up. But I'm coming back Lena, I can promise that."

I heard her sign too, "oh fine, I forgive you. I've been under a lot of pressure here lately. About that thing I told you about transferring, well, I've got great news!"

"Well don't keep me waiting, tell me", I asked.

"I've finished my MS! And my residency! I've been admitted as a heart surgeon now!"

I wasn't surprised. I knew she was going there someday, "Congratz Lena! That's amazing!"

"I know right? But…well…I'm really being overworked. Criminals are still dying, and…"

I felt the worry creeping up inside me, "what is it? Does it have anything to do with Kira?"

"That's just it May, my superiors, and pretty much everyone in the medical field now doesn't believe in Kira as a single person. They've put me and three others in a research group. They want me to act as a molecular biologist since I already have the degree, to find out exactly what is causing this. It's not easy for people in America to believe in the supernatural, they want proof of a scientific phenomenon that is causing these deaths. But I don't know how to find it!"

I frowned, "Lena why don't you quit and just work as a regular heart surgeon?"

"It's hard to, May. I've built up quite a network at uni, and I'm working with them. Applying for a new job will be hard, seeing as I'm not very experienced yet. And they expect a lot out of me. I have to stay here", she sounded a little sad, "but I don't think this can be explained like this, I think it's more of a neurological thing."

"You get yourself into a lot of trouble Lena", I told her.

"I know that!" She seemed to brighten a little, "but there's an advantage to this too. Most of the criminal deaths are taking place around the Kanto region of Japan, right? So my team is considering being sent in to investigate the technology the Japanese people have, to see if they could be responsible. We're to send in reports of what we find. I voted in favor for it since I know you're there so I'll be seeing you soon!"

My mood brightened as well, "that's great! I can't wait! I'm a part time student at To Oh university here actually, so I know a bit of the area. I could be able to help you", thoughts of seeing my best friend of five years again made me smile. I just hoped that she would never find out about my involvement with Kira. That would be disastrous.

I put down my cell phone and blow dried my hair. Then I went over to my closet and put on the dress Light had picked out.

It really was pretty. A little like a cocktail dress, deep magenta. It brought out the dark brown in my eyes. I ran my hands down the soft material and spent a second staring at myself in the mirror. I really did look like someone who was going on their first date. Even the slight blush on my cheeks helped. A first date, where you went to a movie, or to the amusement park. Where you were lost in a starry-eyed heaven for the entire evening. And then the movie ended, and you were standing with him under the night sky…and then there was the magic of a fist kiss. My hands ran over the dress again.

I shook my head to snap out of it. Days like that didn't happen in real life. They just…didn't. They only happened in movies. And it definitely didn't lead to the white dress like most storybooks told of.

_I wonder what I should do with my hair…_

My thoughts were interrupted by the knock on my door. I walked over in surprise, and pushed the door open.

"Oh good, you're almost ready. I was getting bored and decided to stop by and hang out here", Light invited himself in. I moved aside, "yeah, sure. Sit somewhere and don't mess with anything."

"Oh you're so nice…" he went over and sat down on the chair next to the desk. He put his head down on his palm and looked towards me.

"So what are you doing with your hair?"

I turned around, "I don't know. Did you take that cosmetology course you mentioned? Then again, never mind I'll just put it down". I finger combed it and let it fall down my shoulders.

"That's good. By the way, did L question you anytime?"

I thought quickly. That could mean two things. One, L talked to him too, pretending I was Kira. And he did the same with me, telling me Light was Kira. Two, L never talked to Light, but Light was suspicious anyway.

"Not really. He gave me a ride to uni, but we just talked about the other members of the investigation. Seems he actually finds Matsuda pretty valuable", I told him, sounding absentminded.

He nodded and put his hands behind his head, "by the way, do you have to wear that too?"

I looked where he pointed. He was talking about the leather bracelet L had given me with the emergency button. _It doesn't match…I should just leave it…_

It didn't take me long to snap out of it. I needed to wear it at all times! Especially when I was with Kira. This was important!

"I like it. It was a present from a friend of mine. She said it matched my eyes", I improvised. He thought about it, "well, I guess it does."

He stood up and made his way to my dresser. I was about to ask him what he was doing when he pulled open a drawer. He took something out and walked over to me. I felt him put it on my head. I looked in the mirror, it was the hair-bow from Aoyama. I smiled, "thanks, it fits the look."

"I should know", he winked, "anyway, we should start now."

"Are we going by bus?" I asked. winced internally. Going on a public bus wearing this…

"Of course not. I know how to drive, May. I'm twenty. We're taking my dad's car. He thinks I'm study-dating with a friend", he explained playfully.

"What if he calls you and finds out you're at a party?"

"Remember what I said about me keeping the grades coming?"

I smiled, "oh yeah.."

We reached the parking lot and I stepped into Chief Yagami's coffee-colored Honda. I smiled inwardly, seeing how he dressed, you'd think Light was loaded but it seems he was pretty average after all.

The silence dragged on for a while. I remembered that Light was pretty stressed at the moment, with Misa in custody. I figured I should say something.

"Light, you might want to know, Misa hasn't said a word for an entire five hours now. You seem to know her well, is she really the second Kira?"

Light continued to stare up ahead but the crease in his forehead told me he was thinking, "I really don't know. I can't imagine her as Kira. But what do you think?"

I paused, then figured out exactly what to say.

"Her hair was on the tapes that were sent", I told him, "but there's something else that I find weird." This was going to be a little risky, but I thought it would make things interesting.

"What is it May?"

"I think I might have seen Misa in Aoyama."

He didn't show any emotion but I might has well have dropped a bomb.

"Really?"

"Yes. And the diary said, "exchanging notebooks with a friend in Aoyama didn't it? Doesn't this prove that Kira has something literal to do with notebooks?"

"How so?", he kept driving.

"Well, we've come to the conclusion that the two Kiras met, or at least saw each other, in Aoyama. That means the real Kira understood the message. It has something to do with notebooks", I finished.

"Sounds interesting. We should tell Ryuzaki and see what he thinks of it."

"Go ahead and tell him if you want to, but I think I'll keep it to myself. He's started suspecting me again", I said casually. He seemed interested and gave me a side glance, "I'd suspect you too if I were him. I never got to ask, how did you get Ryuzaki to let you work with him? Are you an agent?"

I stayed silent a moment, "Nope. I'm just an ordinary uni student."

"Then how? I was tested a million times before he let me set foot in the investigation headquarters…"

"I told him something no one was supposed to know. I guess you could call it a strange form of blackmail. I wanted to use his resources in return. It's hard for a normal citizen to hunt Kira without the resources and networking that L has."

"What did you tell him?"

"There's a reason no one's supposed to know", I said playfully.

"Thank you, now I won't get any sleep trying to think of what a person could say to blackmail L himself…" he said, "We're here. Let's forget about Kira now."

Keita house was a lot higher-up than Light's. I remembered Light telling me something about his father owning his own company. The house had a large garden in the front, and the backyard had been set up with a large patio. As soon as we got out, the girl with the bleached hair, Yukari, appeared.

"You guys are late", she raised an eyebrow.

"All I was told was to 'come in the evening'. Don't tell me this is going to end at some criminally early hour like midnight!" Light joked. Highschool drinking parties all over again… I smiled to myself.

"Hey look! Light and May are here!"

We turned around to see Ryohei coming up behind us.

"Nice to see you've finally dragged your conceited ass down here. Come on in and get drunk", he joked.

"I have feeling we're not going to feel very good tomorrow morning", Light commented as we followed him in.

"Don't worry. If you drink too much I'll drag you back to your house and tell your father everything", I warned him. He gave me a look of fake terror.

When we got inside Keita's huge house, vodka was shoved into our hands. _Alright then…rich kids really have it good here. No plain old beer._

I settled down on a chair next to Light, who seemed intent on making sure I stuck close. I didn't really know why.

"So how'd you guys meet?" Someone asked. Light rolled his eyes, "oh no, it's the couple interrogation", he smirked, "why d'you want to know?"

"You guys are the newest couple here! Come on and humor us!"

"We met at university", I said, before Light had the chance to say anything disturbing.

"Aww, such nerds. I bet they bonded over trigonometry", a girl said

I frowed for a second but smiled after seeing Light was taking it as a joke too. "Don't worry sweetie, that's Haru over there. Light didn't give her a second look back in highschool", the first guy said. I gave him a smile. The mentioned girl frowned at him.

After my second refill, I was starting to get a little fuzzy. I prided myself on being able to hold stuff in, but it wasn't working here. Light still looked as impeccable as ever, thought I thought I could see some wooziness in his eyes once.

"We should go say a word to Keita. Come on, it's his party and we haven't seen him yet", Light suggested. I nodded.

"He's in the backyard", someone yelled. We took the advice and headed out of the house.

The backyard was even bigger than I thought it would be. This guy had it real good. I felt sorry for his parents. We stepped onto the small wooden platform that led into it.

"I feel sorry for Keita's parents", I voiced my thoughts. Light stopped walking halfway down, "it's their fault for leaving the house with him."

I tried to keep walking, but I felt Light's arm around my waist stop me.

"I've been thinking", he whispered.

"Oh really? That's no good", I told him.

"Thinking about when after today will be the next time I get to be your boyfriend."

He turned me toward him. Something in my mind told me this wasn't good, but the alcohol wasn't helping.

"Maybe some other day", I vaguely heard myself whisper.

"Maybe tomorrow", he replied softly. He got closer and soon I found myself unable to move. This was exactly what I didn't want to happen. I was too loyal to L for this to happen.

Loyal to L? Why? What did he do that was so great that I owed him my loyalty? He tortured me with some brain signal reading thingy!

_Electrophallograph, _my inner nerd immediately reminded me.

L was going to die soon anyway…

Something about helping the world… Oh screw the world. They taught me enough of that environmentally friendly stuff back in elementary school. The only tree killing happening was in the homework sheets they gave out….

He got closer and I felt his breath, hot and coated with the scent of alcohol.

_Who knew Light was a sultry drunk?_

His lips almost touched mine.

We heard a scream.

We broke apart immediately.

"Who was that", Light asked. Fuzziness was creeping into his voice.

We ran back into the house to where the sound came from. More screaming followed. I vaguely registered Keita's voice saying, "who's messin' up my party?"

We came rushed upstairs to where the screaming was coming from and pushed the door of the bedroom open.

I resisted the urge to scream at the scene.

A girl was holding back Ryohei. Her bleached blond hair was matted across her face in sweat and she had a black eye and a split lip. I registered her as Yukari, even though this Yukari looked nothing like the model-worth girl I had seen earlier. She was holding Ryohei back from another guy who was on the floor. In Ryohei's hand was a knife.

"You'll die right here bastard!" I recognized only those words from his stream of harsh Japanese.

"Yamete! Ryohei!" Yukari was screaming.

"Nigekiru!" He slashed the knife back and caught the girl in the stomach. She crumbled.

For a second I couldn't do anything expect stand still. Then I noticed Light's arm was behind his back. The expression on his face was murderous. I knew exactly what he was doing.

I tried to stop him. I tried to pull his arm away from the watch I knew he was wearing on the other side. But to no avail.

Ryohei was advancing towards the other guy with his knife.

Light's arm came away and I knew the damage had been done.

In just a few more seconds, Ryohei took on a painful expression. He slowly crumbled to the floor, holding his chest with both hands.

I felt useless. So useless. I did the only thing that should have been done. I signaled for help to L with the bracelet he'd given me. Then I dragged Light back. Away from the scene that everyone was rushing to. Away from the person he'd killed.

It took me a few more seconds to snap back to sense. I left Light and rushed back to the scene. While everyone was crowded around the dead Ryohei, Yukari was crouched against the wall she had crawled to, clutching her stomach.

"Shh, you'll be fine", I gently turned her over and laid her down on the floor.

"Is Ryohei…alright?" She whispered. I opened a closet nearby and grabbed one of the sheets inside it, covering her from the waist down. Then I reached under and lifted her dress up her over stomach to inspect the wound, covering the rest of her legs with the blanket.

"He's just fine. Now don't move."

It was pretty bad. He'd dug the knife up all the way into her spleen. And with force too.

"Then is Akiyo alright?"

She was talking about the guy Ryohei was attacking. I nodded, "they're both fine. You only need to worry about yourself", I told her. I started ripping up the lower part of the blanket into strips. A few people noticed me but no one came forward to help. They were all probably in shock. I used a second to push Yukari's tangled hair out of her face so she could see clearly. She was probably going to be fine, as long as she didn't loose too much blood.

I started wrapping the strips around her upper stomach. A hand reached out to take the job. As soon as I realized that hand belonged to Light, I pushed it away, pretending I hadn't even known it was him.

I slowly got into the repetition of moving the cloth under and over, under and over, tight enough to hold the wound closed but not too tight. Yukari's eyes were focused on the ceiling.

After a while, another hand reached to take over the process. I was about to push it away too when I realized it was a larger hand, and it looked rougher. I turned back to see Aizawa crouched behind me, a caring look on his face. He held his hand out for the cloth and I gave it to him, still too unconscious to think properly. His strong hands took over the job well. I couldn't move from the position I was in.

I felt strong arms grasp me around the waist from behind. I was going to struggle, thinking it was Light, but a lock of raven hair visible behind me informed me that it was Matsuda. I let myself be pulled back and leaned into him once I was away. I felt hot and sweaty and tired. My dress was clinging to me and bunched up down my legs and I probably looked horrible, but I just wanted to stay right there for the moment. Surrounded by the laundered smell of Matsuda's dress coat and slacks. It didn't matter that it was him. What mattered was that it was someone I could trust. Someone who wouldn't make me doubt my own ideals.

Eventually I was lead slowly to a car outside. One of L's cars, I could tell by the fact that it was a black Mercedes. I settled into the passenger's seat and Matsuda took the driving. Aizawa and Light were in the back. I looked into the center mirror and saw Light biting his lip for a second.

"You were amazing back there May", Matsuda told me after a few minutes of driving in silence.

"I'll agree", Aizawa added, "the paramedics say she'll be fine in a few days, but she would have died if you hadn't stopped the blood flow."

"Something like this happened back when I was in highschool. At the time my friend, Lena, helped out. She did the same thing, with strips from her jacket. Always wrap the material in the opposite direction of the cut…" I managed to murmer.

"Well then you're an amazing learner. Just rest for a while. You're probably all stressed out now, and you're sick from alcohol too. We'll take care of you", Aizawa's soothing voice was exactly my cue to fall asleep.


	16. Another Task

**This is a short chapter, just a little aftermath of the last chapter before i delve into plot water again. **

**Oh and wow...its been a whole bunch of chapters since my last authors note. **

**Next chapter will come out soon, i already have most of it typed. Oh and i didn't get many reviews in the last few chapters, am i doing something wrong here? Not interesting enough? I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive. But thank you to the one who did review, you guys keep the story going. If there's something you want to see happening, i can always find ways for more ideas. The chapter after next chapter will be back to a main story line setting. I've got a whole bunch of stuff planned out for the next ten or so chapters, and then the vague idea beyond that.**

**In This World is now past the 50,000 word limit! Soon i can be classified as 65,000+ !**

**Chapter 16**

I woke up surrounded by soft pillows. When I opened my eyes, a soft yellowish light greeted me. Suddenly I remembered the party and sat up quickly.

I eyes swam in my head.

"Don't sit up too quickly. The blood won't go to your brain", I soft voice told me. I looked around to see L and Matsuda sitting on chairs next to the bed. L had a laptop in his hand. Matsuda looked tired and harassed.

"Matsuda wanted to stay to make sure you were alright. Aizawa wanted to stay as well but I advised him to go home to see his family since he hasn't spent any time with them in a while. Light, who's a little drunk, was dragged home by Mr. Yagami. He wanted to talk to his son about the kind of friends he makes", L updated me, "Misa has expressed a wish to die. She repeated it a few times. I will show you the recording of it later to see your thoughts on it Right now she thinks I am a stalker. I am taking her out of custody and confining her to this floor. Yukari is being treated at the hospital nearby and will be fine soon. Ryohei was confirmed dead, a heart attack. The boy he was threatening, Akiyo, escapes with only diagnosis of trauma and mental shock."

I smiled at him, "thank you, you've covered almost all my questions."

"Am I missing something, May?"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Just ten hours", Matsuda replied, "we came back here at exactly 11:37 pm, it's 11 am now."

"And where an I"

"You're in the bedroom on the floor of the investigation headquarters", L told me, "it's supposed to be my room but I've never actually used it so the sheets were newly replaced."

"Oh", I looked around at the plain white hotel walls, "sorry to cause so much trouble."

"Not at all, Ryuzaki said it was a good thing you were there, you might have seen something happen with Light", Matsuda implied. I looked down. I'd tell them the truth this time, "his hand was behind his back. That's all I noticed. And then Ryohei collapsed."

"I see…" L stood up, jumping off his chair, "well, Watari and Matsuda will be here with you for the next two for so hours. I'll send Misa here later on, she's been deprived of human interaction for a long time so it will be healthy for her to see other people. But I don't advise you to try to do anything rash, it seems your drink had something other than vodka in it."

I paled, "what was it?"

He turned back to look at me before he stepped out the door, "nothing that will cause lasting damage, you need not worry."

"You're fine, May. Like Ryuzaki said, no need to worry. Why don't we play chess?" Matsuda offered.

"I've brought food and sweets as well", Watari added, "go on and play, you'll need a break from your thoughts."

I smiled "alright then, I'll take you up on that challenge.

Matsuda was the worst chess partner I had ever had. I beat him twice in a row with the eleven-move checkmate. He fell for it and took the knight both times. It was hilarious in one way and sad in another. But it was fun. Fun to be around him, who acted so confused whenever I'd pull a really good move, and Watari, who stood by watching the game and offering us food and sweets. Much more fun that it had been with Light, watching my every move, thinking through what I was going to say…

"Something on your mind, young miss?" Watari asked. I nodded briefly at him at the end of the third game, "not really", I lied, hoping he'd caught the nod.

"Matsuda would you please go room service for cake? I'm afraid they've banned me from requesting it since I do it so often", Watari told Matsuda. After he'd left, he turned to me.

"Si there surveillance here?" I asked.

"Cameras but no wiretaps, you may speak freely", he said.

"Soon Light is going to have himself imprisoned here, and he's going to transfer the power of Kira to another person. He'll lose his memories of it. Then we'll have to hunt that person. When we find him, Light will take his powers back. That's the short version of the story", I told him", I want to find a way to make sure that Light doesn't get his powers back again, and they don't get transferred. In that way, we can capture Kira and Light will be innocent, like Misa is now."

"Misa has transferred these powers?" he asked.

"Yes, to Light", I told him.

"For Ryuzaki's sake I'll help as much as I can", he said.

Matsuda returned shortly with a white box. With him was Misa. The blond Lolita rushed into the room, but stopped once she saw me. Then her expression turned into one of anger.

"You! I know exactly what's happening, Light's cheating on me with you isn't he? I saw the way he was acting when we last met!" her eyes started to water and I sighed. This was not the time.

Misa came by and sat on one of the chairs near my bed. She looked down, her blond hair falling into her face, "it doesn't matter. I'll always love Light, no matter what…he'll always belong to me…"

"Misa, I'm not in this picture. Please believe me. I'm not part of this. Maybe I was, maybe Light had a crush on me before, but not anymore. We're not a couple Misa. You're his girlfriend, and what's between him and you is up to you", I finished. I needed Misa on my side in the future.

"You're lying", she said. But her voice showed signs of relief. I smiled at her, "I'm no competition for you Misa, and I don't want to be either. Why don't we just get along?"

"We won't."

"Ouch", Matsuda commented good-naturedly.

"Oh we will…" I muttered, "anyway, I think I can get out of bed now. I'm going to go see Ryuzaki." I tried to get out of bed but Watari stood in front, "that won't be good young lady, you need your rest."

"I need to speak to him about something urgently", I stressed the word, hoping he would understand. After a few seconds he nodded and got out of the way. When I got out of bed, I noticed that I was wearing different clothes. Loose grey sweatpants and a long, loose white shirt that reached to almost my knees. I spent a few seconds looking down at myself.

"You have horrible dressing sense. That shirt makes you look starved", Misa commented, looking at me.

"Not my clothes…" I told her vaguely.

"We got the nurse who came with us in the ambulance with Yukari change you into whatever was closest while we were filling out her hospital bills. We thought it was the most comfortable thing we could find. Send them down with the laundry later, Miss", Watari said. I smiled and nodded, leaving the room.

I headed down to Ryuzaki's main investigation room. No one else was there at the moment, I was glad I could speak to him in private.

"Ryuzaki?" I said, standing in the doorway a moment before going in and sitting down on the couch. He turned around, "You have something to tell me."

It was a statement, not a question. He must have noticed my inner argument earlier.

"Light killed him. I'm sure of it. Of course, I have nothing but my word to prove it, so the public won't believe it, but I can tell you what I saw."

He put him thumb in his mouth and sat opposite me, "tell me. I may be able to gather clues on how he kills."

"Right before the moment of the guy's death, Light's hands were behind his back, I couldn't see what he was doing. I can only suppose that whatever he uses to kill, he had it with him at the time", I recollected, "out of that, we can assume that there is a possibility of there being a entity who kills whoever Light gives name and face off."

He paused and I could tell he was thinking about it, "correct. That analysis is almost flawless. But it involves a problem, how to stop it? If we get rid of the source, Light, will the entity stop killing?"

"We stop giving him information", I responded, "if he doesn't know any names or faces, he won't be able to kill."

"That's rather clever, May. It could be the answer. Now, I have a task for you", he spun his chair around to grab a sugar cube and plopped it into his mouth.

"A task?" I asked, suspicious. The last one had almost gotten me killed.

"Yes, I want you to confirm that Light is receiving data about the criminals whose names have been kept confidential."

"You want me to worm around in his system?" I asked.

"yes, that covers it. Search his entire file system, and where he's been."

It had been a long time since I was asked to do a hacking. I wasn't sure whether it would be easy, I could top Light in hacking any day, but he was smart, he would have tricks up his sleeve. I decided to give it a try, "do you want me to go up to him and ask him if I could borrow his laptop or what?"

He gave me a confused look, "what do you mean ask? I want you to do this more covertly than that May."

"So…you want me to break in?"

"That's one way of putting it, yes."

"Light's at home right now, you do know that?"

"I am planning on calling him back and keeping him busy for the day. That will give you enough time."

"What about his father?" I asked. There were too many loops in this plan of his.

"He knows already. He has agreed to stay out of the way and open the door for you, but he said that he will not help you invade his son's privacy in any way and will act as normal if anyone else discovers you. So have a little bit of spy action happening alright?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "I thought you had hackers at your disposal! Why me? I'm no good at being a spy!"

He shrugged, "you know Light very well, you may be able to know what and where to look for in a situation where others wouldn't. I would go myself if I could."

I sat, dumbstruck, for a while before regaining my composure, "alright I'll do it."

"Good. You may go back to your apartment, and I will call Light. He will be here at around three o'clock. Be at his house at four at the latest. Stay there and do what you can until seven or until you finish and have gathered evidence. I'll keep him here until eight. When you get back, go straight to your room, Light should not see you here, I will tell him you are still resting."

"Yes, I understand. I'll see you tomorrow then", I stood up and walked to the door. He nodded once at me and went back to his work.

I got a few strange looks from the people in the elevator I rode in, but they probably thought I was in my nightwear. I unlocked my room and stepped inside.

For some reason, L's floor seemed so much more familiar than my own room. I almost liked it better. There was always cake. I walked over to my closet.

"What to wear while infiltrating someone's house and computer?" I talked aloud to myself. Because of all the sneaking in, I felt the need to dress in black. I pulled out a pair of black slacks and a black sweater. Then I put the sweater back and pulled out a pink shirt instead, I didn't want to look emo, just ninja. And according to Naruto, ninjas wore orange anyway.

Putting the clothes on the bed, I took of the grey sweatpants. Staring at them for a second, I realized that they were part of one of the outfits they had Misa wear during interrogation. I threw it in the laundry bin.

When I moved to take of the shirt, I noticed it smelled different. Sweet. Like candy. I wondered if Misa had been wearing this one too.

"Yes, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"It's May isn't it?"

"Actually yes, it is. We will carry on with our analysis of the recent events as well."

"Should I come over there?"

"I was about to suggest that. We should not speak over the phone very freely, even if this is a private line."

"I'll be there as fast as possible. My dad's glares are getting worse by the second."

"I don't have much experience in that topic, but even if I did I would still advise you to apologize meaningfully. The chief is a good man, you put him under much stress."

"Thanks, I'll remember that. I'm leaving now, I'll take the bus so I'll be there in half an hour. I'm not allowed anywhere near my family's vehicles anymore…"

"I'm sorry to hear. I'll see you here in headquarters, bye."

"Bye."

Ryuzaki put the phone down and reached for a lollipop automatically. He stuck it in his mouth and prepared for keeping Light busy for the next while. It was good that he was eager to get out of his house, that would make things easier.

In the meanwhile, he tried to organize his thoughts. They were all jumbled up, like a collage. He needed to organize them quickly if he was to come to any conclusions about the investigation.

But he kept getting distracted.

By the mental image of how good May had looked in one of his shirts…

**Next chapter coming up soon! Opinions and contructive critisism in reviews are welcome, as i said, they keep the story going.**


	17. Imprisioned

**This chapter is kind of short too, but the next one will be a lot longer. I'm finally going into plot water again. The next few chapters will be on the darker side but it will get lighter soon. ****I think i might have something funny planned out for the next chapter thats unrelated to the plot. Like a small sidestory parody to introduce more DN characters.**

**Oh and on the other hand (there are different fingers...) the last chapter only got two reviews. I'm glad more people are reading the story, but i don't know why my number of reviews are decreasing. Should i be checking up strategic times to upload or what? I'm uploading a lot faster now... :'(**

**disclaimer: it's been a long time since i did one of these. I don't own any of the deathnote characters and the only things here that I own are my original characters and the plot differences from the original anime. Any similarities you may see are purely coincidental.**

**Chapter 17**

I walked down the road to Light's house slowly. I was a little early, but I didn't want to have to rush. It took a while to get there anyway.

I found myself standing in front of Light's house for the second time. Guilt was ridding my mind as I walked up his driveway and stood in front of the door. I wondered if I should knock, what if his mother or sister answered instead?

Before I could decide, the door opened. Chief Yagami was stood there, holding the door open.

"Is…anyone else in at the moment?" I asked quietly. He didn't respond. Instead he pretended not to see me, looking around me and then turning around. Before he took his eyes off me, I saw the deep hatred in his eyes for a second. He turned and went back to the sofa, picking up the newspaper on the coffee table.

"Chief…" I almost lost my resolve before leaving my shoes outside and entering the house, closing the door behind me. I heard Sayu and Sachiko talking in the kitchen, and walked quietly over to the stairs. I tiptoed up them quietly and came up to the top floor. Light's room was…the one to the left.

I made a move to open the door but stopped, remembering the trick Light used to tell if anyone was in his room. The pencil was still there. I removed it slowly and pocketed it, reminding myself to put it back later.

Light's room was as immaculate as he was. If I hadn't watched the anime, I wouldn't have noticed the small scratches on the wall where it looked like something had been thrown.

To start out, I inspected his room. As usual, the magazines were there, hidden in law books. And then there was his closet, clothes neatly hung and smelling newly washed. On his desk were plies of paperwork, and in his drawer…

I wondered…

Light pushed the door to the investigation headquarters open. "I'm here", he announced to Ryuzaki, who was sitting at the computer.

"You're just on time. I wanted to ask you about the party", Ryuzaki spun his chair around.

"I do have something to tell you. It's probably nothing but…at the time right before Ryohei's death, May hands were…behind her back. I don't know if that's significant, but if it is, and you're right about her being Kira, it may mean that she is able to kill on the spot", he conveyed seriously.

The detective was thinking, "yes, that may be important after all. I will have to improve surveillance on her."

Light smiled inwardly, his next move would shock L for sure.

"But…Ryuzaki, that's not the only thing I came here to tell you…"

"Oh? Do you have a different analysis? Please do share, you've been invaluable to the investigation, even at almost five percent", the detective put his thumb in his mouth and awaited Light's words.

"Well…Ryuzaki…I think that…I think that I may be Kira!"

He did a very good job at hiding it, but Light could see the second of surprise on L's face.

"Is this a confession?"

"No, not a confession. I would never kill people, but what if it's not me that's doing it? What if I'm killing them subconsciously? I don't know how I can live knowing that I could be Kira!"

"Interesting…and how did you come to this conclusion?"

"I've been thinking, that maybe the world would be better off without crime. That maybe what Kira is doing, maybe it's for the good of the world. Maybe we should be helping him…Arrgh!" Light put his face into his hands, satisfied with his own acting.

"It's normal to think that way. Matsuda himself has admitted having thought like that."

"But I think I might really believe it! I mean, I know! Killing is wrong. No one deserves to die, no matter what they do. Everyone can be changed! Even someone who's spent their life in the dark can be forced to see the light! They don't have to die! I know that…no one deserves to die", he hung his head, brown locks falling over his eyes, "but I been thinking the opposite…I don't know what's happening! Maybe I really am Kira…maybe I'm killing without realizing it…"

"Light Yagami, you are Kira. I know that for a fact. You are Kira and Misa was the second Kira. Once I find evidence, you will go down. You are intentionally killing criminals, and I will find out how. It's only a matter of time. The only two mysteries are how Misa lost her memories, and what part May plays in all of this", Ryuzaki pushed a sugar cube into his mouth.

"Ryuzaki! Please understand my point of view! What would you do if you were in my place?"

"I would turn myself in, just like you should."

"No! I'm not intentionally killing people! Please believe me! Kira has to be an unconscious power if it's me! And I don't even know what Misa has to do with all of this", Light could feel the pangs of frustration creeping up on him. This had to work.

"Then what do you suggest I do about this?" Ryuzaki had a strange look on his face. It was probably the closest thing he would ever show Light to anger. Or helplessness.

"Put me under surveillance. Twenty-four hour surveillance. I want to see if the killings continue. I want to know if I am Kira", Light banged his hands on the desk.

"Fine. I will put you under surveillance. However, the conclusions I make will not be the same as what you think", Ryuzaki leaned forward to look straight into Light's eyes. He held his glare until Light looked away.

_Different conclusions? What does he mean?_ Light wondered. But he would do it. Ryuzaki had fallen into his trap. He would take the chance now, the chance to prove that he wasn't Kira. And then, he would catch Kira.

"You will be put into the interrogation room today evening", the detective poured some tea into his cup of sugar.

"Why wait until evening?" Light asked.

"You'll see. Until then, stay in this room. You may use any of the laptops, and the restroom is that way", L took a sip. Light shrugged and went to sit in front of a computer.

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

They stayed like that for a while. Light typing away on a laptop farther down and L finishing up his work on another case. He felt guilt every time he thought of what he was about to do that evening.

He couldn't afford to think like that. He was the world's greatest detective, he couldn't afford to let things get in the way of his investigation. Kira would be caught, no matter who or how. In the end, justice would win. And L worked for justice.

But no matter how much he tried to talk to himself and bring logic back into his mind, there was still that sliver of hope that what he predicted would not be true.

I took out the pen I'd seen him use in the anime and pushed it through the hole, pushing the bottom up and exposing the hidden section. I reached in and touched the notebook with a finger, holding it there for a few seconds.

After a while, nothing happened. I sighed and pulled my finger away, letting the notebook be covered again. There was no rule that said a shinigami could tell when it's note was being touched. I'd just hoped I could ask Ryuk what was going on with Light since he'd left yesterday.

The laptop was the last thing I touched. It was a small Dell, not one of my favorite brands. It was actually one of my least favorites, being rather bulky. But he kept it cleaner than I kept my macbook.

I started it and plugged in my jump drive, waiting while it ran my homemade password finder, going up to twenty alpha-numeric plus digits. If it didn't work, I would try the other program that had symbols enabled.

I didn't have to, it seemed his password was pretty obvious, lys78fs. A random-sounding alpha-numeric. I opened the shell and typed in ls-lt.

"Where have you been Light?..." I murmured to myself, taking in all his latest places. I caught a file that read "deleteme".

"Bingo…" I shut the program down and went to his file system, typing the name into the search. When it came up as a result I clicked on it. This was the file where Light had kept everything he hacked off his father's account. It had the latest criminal files, even the ones that hadn't been released to the public. This was certain proof.

I transferred a copy of the file into my jump drive and ejected it, turning off the laptop as well. I put the drive back into my pocket and pushed the screen down. Ryuzaki had suggested I take an entire external hardrive to copy as much as possible but I'd told him I only needed a USB for this.

When I left the room I gave it a quick glance-over first. Making sure everything was in place. Then I put the pencil back into the door hinge and went quietly downstairs. Chief Yagami was still in the chair and didn't even look at me when I slipped out the door. Having his hatred felt a lot worse for some reason. He was a good person, and a good father. I felt horrible at having someone like that despise me.

On the way back, I heard my name being yelled. I looked around, not seeing the source for a moment. Then I noticed a girl walking toward me. She had long, silky-looking deep brown hair, and her cheeks seemed red from running a little. Behind her was a vehicle that I supposed she had gotten out from. The strange thing was that she was wearing a plain rough-looking white shirt and cotton pants.

"May! I was about to head to Light house to ask him where you were, but I'm glad I found you myself", the girl said. A woman emerged from the vehicle, but the girl waved her an "it's alright".

I still had no clue who she was.

"I'm not sure I know who you are", I told her truthfully.

"Oh, well you probably just don't recognize me because I don't look like I usually do. It's Yukari", she smiled. I stared.

"Yukari? Really? Sorry I didn't recognize you…your hair is…different", I settled.

"I had to wash it out since I needed to look like I did on my identification card", she explained, "I know, it looks so plain now, doesn't it?" There was a tinge of pain in her voice.

"It looks nice", I told her honestly, "but why are you here?"

"I'm looking for you", she said, "I wanted…to thank you. Thank you…"

She sounded awkward, not at all like the girl I'd seen before. I supposed it was the near-death-experience.

"I only did what I had to", I told her.

"You saved my life. I'm grateful. I was discharged from the hospital today, but I'm not allowed to do anything that involves using upper abs. Like climbing stairs", she still sounded awkward, "and…I'm also extremely sorry", she lowered her head.

"Sorry for what?" I asked.

"For mis-judging you. I hated you from the moment I saw you with Light", her long bangs fell over her eyes, "I'm a horrible person really. I've always run after Light, even when I was with Ryohei. He put up with me because he really…loved me", the pain in her voice was more evident now, "when I saw you with him, I cursed you all kinds of bad things. I'm sorry."

Her eyes were watery, but she lifted her head with a pained smile, "I don't think you could forgive me if you know how much I hated you, but I really wanted to come say this to you."

At first I didn't know what to say. I didn't hate her, but I knew I might have. I thought about Light. Then I knew what to say.

"You don't know how lucky you are", I told her. She looked at me, confused. Her hands still over her face.

"You don't know how lucky you are that Light never gave you a second glance. That he never decided to use you."

Her eyes widened, "Oh, May…"

"I don't know if you'll believe me, but it's his fault. It's his fault that your boyfriend died. I don't hate you, and I never will. The only person I hate is Light."

I walked away from her. She looked at me leave with wide eyes. From the corner of my eye I saw her nod slowly before I turned around.

I walked all the way back to the hotel an took the elevator up to my room. When I arrived at my room, I found Watari standing outside the door to my room.

"Miss Amara, you're back. Please come with me, Ryuzaki wishes to see you", he smiled and motioned for me to follow him.

"Is anything…wrong?" I asked. he shook his head, "please understand that I'm on your side, and I think this will be the best way to do things because it will fully convince Ryuzaki and we will have him thinking on the right path again."

I was worried now, "what happened?"

He didn't answer and instead motioned again. I followed him to the investigation headquarters.

Ryuzaki was sitting very still on his chair in the room. Farther ahead was Light, sitting at a computer, he turned around when he saw me.

"Ryuzaki why am I here? I thought you said…"

"I know. I have a new plan. To settle things", he finished the tea he was drinking. I had a bad feeling about it.

"You don't mean…no! Ryuzaki don't!" Light glared at him, "I don't know what it will accomplish!"

"Why, Light? Weren't you the one who said we should do anything we can to stop Kira? Well, this is one way", his tone was unnerving me.

I thought about it. What happened in the anime at this point? Well, I couldn't rely on that anyway. Too many things were going differently. Then I heard a sound that made me shiver. Ryuk was laughing.

"I don't understand. What is this plan? Why is Light against it?" It took so much out of me just to keep my voice from shaking.

Before I could say anything more, or even receive a response, I felt my hands being put together behind my back. Then I felt something cool being clasped around them. Handcuffs. I realized what he was about to do. There wasn't anything I could think of saying.

"Fine", I told him, looking at the floor, "I'll go through with this."

Light was still looking at me with wide eyes that were probably faked. And at Watari who had just handcuffed me.

"I'm sure May isn't involved! She can't be! There's absolutely nothing to even get us to that conclusion", Light stood up.

Ryuzaki put down the teacup.

"You two have been making the same analysis about an entity killing off anyone who Kira gives a name and a face to. I can only see that as suspicious. Both of you know each other's identities, so if that assumption is correct, one of you is Kira, and the other will die within confinement in the next while. The conclusions from this will be simple. If one of you dies in there, you're theory is true, and the other will be put under full surveillance for life. If the killings of criminals stop, then one of you is, in fact, and intentional Kira and we will continue the investigation to see which one of you it is. Light has already asked to be confined after all. If I happen to be wrong and everything goes as usual, we will reconsider our focus in the investigation. That is all."

Light looked away and followed Watari as he lead both of us into the interrogation room. The same room.

Ryuzaki pushed his chair back from the table and put his legs awkwardly down until he was sitting like a normal person. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

**Reviews keep the chapters coming! **


	18. I'll Find Him

**Whew, longest chapter yet, and typed up in thirty minutes here and there, probably two or three hours total! In This World is now qualified to be filter up to the 60,000+ section! This is a big day!**

**Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback. As promised, this chapter is mostly a bit on the lighter side, just some character intro and plot leading. By the way, when I looked up Roger's last name, it came up as Roger Ruvie, so that's why he's referred to as later on here. The next chapter will have to do with May and Light's imprisonment again.**

**Chapter 18**

In a little building in the middle of urban England, Mello was staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.

"Hey man, cheer up would you? It's giving me the creeps to see you doing anything else that screaming your butt off and telling the world how shitty we are", a redheaded boy with a DS stuffed into his pocket entered the room and sat down on a couch.

"Damn the world to hell. Happy?" The depressed boy let his arm hang off the couch he was lazing on, "give me some of my own damn time. Go play your stupid games."

"Ouch. And I was just thinking about consoling you. Forget it, you deserved every fucking moment of seeing the charts", the redhead took out the DS.

"Oh yeah? Well your gonna deserve every fucking moment of being beat up, bastard", Mello got up and glared at his roommate.

"Harsh. Chill alright? It's not the end of the world. I'll always be there for you, and all the shit like that. I was just wondering if you wanted some lunch is all", he was now fully focused on the handheld.

"Get out Matt. We all know I'll beat him next time. The only mystery is what the hell an idiot like you is doing ranked right below me", he stood up and went over to the window.

"And without even trying to", Matt said proudly, "did you squeeze any new info out of Roger?"

"No, he won't crack open. I'll keep trying though. I've got a lead now. I can make L recognize me. Then he won't give a damn about Near", he stared at the London city lights in the distance.

"Yeah yeah. All you ever talk about when you think about L is some chick he managed to score who you saw when you were there", Matt's eyes didn't come off his game.

"That chick helped dig a chip out of my neck Matt, she was there for a reason. There's no way our hermit could ever get her, no way in hell", Mello turned around curiously, "you know her. She's a cyberpunk like you, her codename is May. She recognized yours when I mentioned it."

"No shit! May's infamous! Roger tells me not to reveal my skill too much while intercepting but I was way curious about him. Wait a minute, did you just say that May's a girl? And a chick too? Where can I meet her?" Matt actually looked up from his game, and Mello took it as a bad sign.

"Matt, you are not going to hook up with her, you know that. She's not going to pick some skinny ginger punk when she can have L's latest Kira suspect."

"Are we jealous? You know I don't lean that way right?" Matt smirked at Mello's frustrated grin, "who's this Kira suspect?"

"You should know. I made you steal the file from Roger's laptop a while ago", Mello told him.

"I don't read the crap I hack for you Mels. You probably just want to know how Near looks in his naked identification photo anyway. I might risk being scarred for life if I read your wanted info", Mat dodged the small sculpture that was thrown at him, whistling as it hit the wall and shattered into a hundred pieces, "We sure keep the maids busy don't we?"

"Shut up or they'll have to clean your blood off the floor too", the blond replied, "anyway, it's a guy named Light Yagami. He's smart as hell and freaking hot too. His reports say he was valedictorian for his highschool, and got into To Oh with a hundred percent average. He may not be us, but he's close enough."

"Tough opposition huh?"

"You're no opposition. Not unless you get your head out of the video game and get some serious training at the gym."

"Hey! The girls like pretty boys!", he reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette.

"Committing suicide, Matty. One breath at a time. You won't live long enough to get a girl."

"Hey Mello, I got you some info", Matt told him. He put his game back into his pocket and pulled his laptop off the table. He loaded it to a page.

"It looks like there might be a lead on Kira coming right here to Wammy's."

"What!" Mello ran over and grabbed the laptop from Matt. It was an email screen. He looked at the reply.

_I am pleased to accept your offer to work for L while we carry out our research, and I will abide by your conditions, we will not tell anyone about this. Our team is very dedicated to discovering Kira's method of killing, and I will reveal to you that we are not only focusing on the biological part that we have been assigned. _

_To cope with this new development, we have split into two groups, myself and a colleague will be coming to Wammy's House to meet with you before heading to Japan. The other two will head straight to Japan._

_I hope to make a pleasant arrangement on our investigation, _

_-Dmitri Arsov_

"Man are you serious? This is amazing! We need to see this guy! More importantly, we need to know what he'll be talking to Roger about!" Mello was almost bursting with excitement.

"Hold it, you think Roger is going to allow the guy who steals his personal supply of chocolate into a private conference? Not happening. If you hear two words straight I'll give you a medal", Matt looked up at him.

"Oh we'll know all right. When's this conference happening?"

"Today. They emailed saying they'd left the US at five am, so they should be here at around four", he pushed his read hair out of his face and reached for his DS. His fingers met air. Matt looked up to see Mello juggling his precious toy with a thoughtful expression.

"Hey! Gimme my baby!"

The blond smirked at him, "you can have it, but you're going to help me with this. I'll need a backup."

"No way! I can't been seen helping you! My reputation as the jerk with the game will do down the drain!"

"If you do everything properly, we won't be seen. Come on, what happened to 'I'll always be there for you'?" He threw the little black box up in the air and caught I swiftly when it came back down.

"I was spewing shit to make you feel better! You don't actually believe that!"

"Yeah, we'll I'm taking you up on it now. You're gonna be there for me whether you like it or not", he pocketed the DS. Matt stared after it like his entire life was being crushed, "Fine I'll do whatever! Just gimme the orders…"

"That's my Matty. I knew you'd see it my way. We've got some time, so I'll tell you the plan. We're gonna spy on this conference, and use whatever we find out to blackmail this Dmitri guy", he smirked wider, "he'll tell us everything he knows about Kira."

"How do we know that he'll obey us? What if the blackmail's useless."

"Anything confidential they say can be used. According to the email, they've signed a deal to not expose anything. The guy will do as we say."

"I wish you'd stop saying 'we'", Matt grumbled. He walked back over to the couch and slumped down on it.

After a while of sitting down on the couch and doing…well…nothing, Matt had enough.

"Mels please! I can feel the addiction symptoms already! Gimme my DS! I won't use it, I just want to feel it's smooth DS-ness against my skin. Smell the lovely smell of it's plastic, taste the metal of the cool flame design I had put onto it!" Matt rolled over off the couch and fell onto the floor. He chewed a little on his cigarette.

"Stop that it's gross. It's time for us to go anyway, we need to be there early to find a good hiding spot. Take the stupid thing and stuff it in your pocket", Mello tossed him the game, which he caught readily. To Mello's horror, he did as promised and ran his tongue over it's black surface.

After he was done shivering, he went over and pulled the gamer up, "Let's go."

They walked down the hall like…centipedes with 98 legs missing. Eventually, they reached the House's large conference room. Mello looked around, giving the room a three-sixty. Looking for hiding places.

"What about that closet? It looks pretty big, and there's a small glass decoration spot we can look our of if we need to. Probably a coat closet.

"It'll do. Get in", Mello walked over and looked it over. Once he had deemed it alright, he motioned for Matt to step in. the red haired gamer was inside hesitantly. The closet was made of dark cherry wood, and it was meant to be a coat closet. A small glass flower decoration on one side promised the view Matt had mentioned.

Mello fitted himself in on the other side, then moved to close the door. The long coats hung halfway to the floor, and they stood in front on the coats, against the inside of the wooden door. It was a little crowded but they managed. At first. Then they started to get restless.

"Um, Mels, I think we got here too early. It's been at least twenty minutes and nothing's happened. We should have come here a little earlier", Matt shifted a little.

"Don't move you idiot, you're crowding me here!" A frustrated voice replied.

"Yeah yeah", Matt tried to move back where he had been, but found an obstruction. He pushed away with his hands, thinking it was just a really long coat. Unfortunately, it felt warm.

"Matt get your freakin hands…I swear, the moment we get out…"

"I'll stay still. Still as a doll, I swear", the gamer paled a little.

As soon as they had worked their way back into their original positions, there were footsteps getting louder from outside the room. Eventually they stopped outside the door of the room. The door creaked open and they heard Roger's voice drift in.

"…tired from traveling all the way here, of course. I'll have you refreshed a little with our chef's specialties before we delve into the purpose here."

"Yes, thank you for the hospitality. We were hesitant at first, but it's very honorable to be able to work with L on this", the stranger's voice, Dmitri's, was androgynous and pleasant.

"Take a seat, Amanda will take your coat."

The two boys listened steadily for a few more seconds until the message sunk in. Footsteps neared the door.

"Shit!" Mello cursed silently. The footsteps were coming to Matt's side. He grabbed the gamer and pulled him down to the floor until he was crammed with Mello into the corner, below the bottoms of the coats. He held a hand over Matt's mouth and tried to stop his own breathing.

The door opened slowly and a coat was pushed into a hangar. They didn't breathe until the maid was gone.

"Matt how stupid are you! This is a coat closet and it's friggin' winter out there!" Mello whispered in frustration into Matt's ear.

"I forgot. Mels, you're breathing into my ear and it tickles like hell."

"Don't be so up front about it. Grin and bear it, we can still hear from here."

"I'm grinning."

From outside the closet, the voices started talking again.

"…so that's one of the reasons", Roger finished.

"And the other reasons?" The stranger asked.

"Well, L had informed me that one of his Kira suspects has had phone contact with one of the members of your research group."

"Really? Who is it?"

"Well it's not you. But we can't give out any other information. L requires your assistance on a few other things apart from research."

"What kind of things?" Dmitri seemed a little reserved now.

"A little bit of spy work, putting it plainly. You will be perfect since you have access to many resources."

"Tell me, Mr. Ruvie. Do you believe that Kira is using a bio weapon to kill?"

"No. And you don't believe that either do you? Well that's why we're helping you find the real way by providi…"

The two men were talking, but Mello could also hear paper rustling. He supposed it was the document being handed between them.

As Mello was listening intently, Matt was getting restless. It wasn't comfortable being cramped up into the corner smelling Mello's leather and feeling the section of stomach he exposed pressed up against his wrist. He was also getting sweaty, wearing a vest over his striped shirt.

"Hey Mello, got anything interesting yet?"

"Not really. Shut up."

"I'm bored."

"Good for you."

"Can I play mario kart while we're waiting? I've got my DS with me."

"If you don't shut up it won't be with you anymore."

"I'll be really quiet…"

"Ok it's not with you anymore."

Matt felt the blond's hands feel up his pant legs, trying to find his pocket to steal his DS. They reached his upper thighs but Matt quickly transferred the game to his other pocket. He smirked in the dark, "looking for something?"

"Where is it?"

"Ah don't ruin the moment, I wasn't talking about the DS…"

"Geek. Shut up and stay quiet."

The conference ended shortly, with Dmitri leaving to go to his temporary 'hotel' room at the House. Mello peeked out to make sure Roger had left before pushing the closet door open and collapsing onto the cold floor outside.

"Ah…so cold and wonderful". They were both drenched in sweat from being in the closet. Not to mention tired. Matt crawled out and collapsed beside Mello.

"Mels, it's not that I didn't like a hot sweaty evening with you, but I am never doing that again. Also, I hate to tell you, but you need a longer shirt."

Mello growled at him before standing up, "let's get to the room and get cleaned up before anyone sees us."

They walked obscurely back to their room and Matt immediately ran to the bathroom and locked himself in. It was the only bathroom in the room.

"I get first shower!" the gamer's happy voice drifted through.

"Get out of there you little shit, I need a shower more than you do! And no one uses the bathroom before I do!"

"I'm gonna have a long, warm shower then. See you in an hour."

Mello growled to himself and sat on the couch, irritated beyond belief. But the good news was that the mission was accomplished. While Matt was bothering him, he had managed to attain information that was perfect for prime blackmail. Dmitri was onto his bait.

When Matt finally came out dressed in another striped shirt and jeans, his skin was almost as pink as his hair from the long bath.

"Took your time?" A vein popped in the blonds' head.

"Yup. Water's great. Enjoy", the gamer walked over and shook his wet hair all over their new couch. Mello looked at him curiously.

"I don't like the color. If I ruin it enough, the maid will bring in a new one."

"That, or we get to use a shitty couch for the rest of our orphanage years."

"Yeah maybe. Try ripping it up with your knife instead."

Mello ignored him and walked into the bathroom for a long shower. The water was like heaven to him, being covered in stinky dry sweat. He kept his mind busy by trying to choose one of the things he had heard to use as blackmail.

There was the time Roger had told him something about L having his suspects illegally under full interrogation. That was against the law wasn't it? And the time Dmitri had mentioned having to illegally "borrow" a criminal's body to do research. He would get locked up for sure if anyone found out. Yeah this was all prime blackmail…

He walked out of the shower to see Matt slouched up in front of the flatscreen TV, setting up their PS3. He walked over to his table and unwrapped a bar of chocolate, snapping a corner off.

"Hey, wanna go pay our stranger a visit now?" He suggested. The gamer paused his setting-up to turn around and give him a weird look, "I thought I was done here? Is my torture not over?"

"Of course it's not. You're under my torture privileges for life Matty."

"Whoopee", he shrugged, "well, can't get any worse than this, can it? I'm not interested in the least."

"Don't you want to catch Kira and get recognized by L", Mello asked. It had never crossed his mind that any of the other kids would want anything but to be the next L.

"Hell no. I'm happy where I am. I'll hold on to your tailcoats and take my DS with me thank you very much. And meet hot hackers too. That's my way of life", Matt winked.

"That's stupid", the blond mumbled, "get up we're going."

"What? Already? But I just started playing Guild Wars…"

"Up Matt. We're going to go blackmailing."

Matt left the TV reluctantly, and followed Mello down the hallway. They got to the guest section, and looked around. There were lots of rooms, down a large hallway. One of the House maids past by. Mello caught her arm right before she past.

"Hey lady, where's Dmitri Arsov's room?"

The frightened girl stuttered, "room 306 I think. Excuse me", she walked away quickly. She turned around right before turning a corner and Matt gave her a friendly wave. He considered himself responsible for Mello's rudeness sometimes.

"We're here", they stood in front of room 306. It was just like any other guest door, gold plate with the room number, white door…

Mello knocked aggressively on the door. Trying to be manly, Matt supposed, or intimidating.

"Hey Mels, if you really want to be that intimidating, try cutting that hair first" Matt suggested. Mello turned to growl at him, then turned back quickly when the door opened.

The man, Dmitri, was tall. Almost six feet. Tall and lanky, not much muscle on him. He had a head of messy black hair that went down to his shoulders, and brown eyes that had a tinge of green. His face was still tinged with pink from the cold outside.

"Hello there, what can I do for you?" He asked. Mello grumbled inwardly, he hated having to deal with people who were taller than him, especially when they were taller by a good three inches.

"Let us in, we have something to ask", he told the stranger. Dmitri raised an eyebrow and looked past him to Matt. The gamer smiled charmingly and gave him a shrug, running his hands through his pinkish hair.

He finally nodded and let them in, "were you two sent by Mr. Ruvie? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Mello opened his mouth to speak but Matt beat him to it.

"Never seen you either hot stuff. We came to deliver a bed invite", he joked. Unfortunately the other man didn't think it was funny.

"That's too bad but I already have a girlfriend thank you. You may leave", he said seriously.

"That's not what we're here for. Matt's just being an ass. Just ignore him", Mello told him.

"Then maybe you should keep your boyfriend away, young lady", he told him.

The redness started in the blonde's toes. Then it crept up, slowly. Into his chest. Then it got to his face. He stood there for a while, red faced with anger. Then he made to punch the guy.

"Hey, hey, not the time Mels", Matt put his arms around his middle and held him back, "he's actually a guy, he gets mad when people call him a girl", he explained.

"A guy…whatever. I respect your choices. However I do have a girlfriend so you two may leave", he said, still not understanding. Mello spent a moment staring at the floor. Then he calmed down. To whatever minimal level of calm a Mello could actually reach.

"Mr. Arsov, we came here for business. Matt, shut the hell up and go sit in the corner", he finally managed to say, "you're going to tell us everything you know about the Kira investigation."

The taller man sat down on the couch and motioned for Mello to follow suit. After they were both seated, he frowned.

"What makes you think I'll reveal anything I know?"

"Because you've signed a contract with Roger that you wouldn't reveal anything he told you, and we have that information. If you do as we say, we won't tell anyone. If not, the info he's given you will be common knowledge", Mello leaned back in the seat and spread his arm over the top of the couch. Matt settled on the seat right next to him, swinging his legs and looking bored.

"Oh, I know who you are now", Dmitri smiled widely. Mello was thoroughly confused now, "what?"

"I know who you are. Mr. Ruvie told me all about you during our conference earlier."

"Wait what?" Mello was growing irritated. It seemed like all he said saying was 'what?'

"You were in the closet right? Along with Matt. We're sorry to disturb you earlier. It was just such a strange place to be doing things like that. I suppose it would be easier than where all the others are though", he sunny smile stayed on his face.

"What?" Mello said for the third time.

"I think we've been discovered Mels…" Matt added.

"But we were there, Roger didn't tell you anything about us! We heard everything!"

The stranger laughed, "well yes, we didn't want to exchange any information since you were there so we wrote everything on notes and passed them to each other."

Mello remembered the rustling of paper he had heard, "but then…"

"There's no need to be shy, young love is always inspiring. I'm not old enough to be judging you kids, I'm probably only a few years older than you", the smile never left his face, and his greenish eyes sparkled.

Matt leaned forward, "woah woah. You think Mels and I were…"

"As I said, there's no need to be shy about it."

Mello stood up from the seat, "you've got it all wrong, we were only there because—"

"Mello I think we should leave now…" Matt grabbed the blonde's arm and dragged him to the door, "sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Arsov. It's not what you think but I don't think our original plan of blackmailing you will work anymore. See you."

He dragged him out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"What was that for, bastard?" Mello grumbled.

"Did you see the way he was smiling? That guy was downright creepy! There's no way we could have solved anything…" the gamer shrugged.

"So you want to be known as my closet buddy now?" Mello fumed, then thought for a moment, "no pun intended."

"Why don't we go back to our lives now", the gamer took Mello's arm and dragged him back to their room, "you need to give up on this. Focus on your studies more, that way you can beat Near."

Mello glared at the redhead, "I will find Kira, Matty. I'll get into contact with May again, I can get information out of her. You're going to help. You just wait. I'll find Kira and L will notice me and Near will be thrown down the drain!"

"Next time the charts come up, I'm gonna be number one."

"Yeah yeah", Matt lit himself a smoke, "you do that. If we're dealing with creepy people like him, I'd like to stay in the shadows please."

Back in Dmitri's room, the lanky man was still sitting on the couch. He heard another knock on the door, and stood up to go answer it.

"Hello again, Mr. Ruvie. I'm glad to say I was payed an earlier visit as well", he smiled. The older man nodded, "those boys needed to be taught. You did a fine job, I was watching from the surveillance."

"Rather scary, aren't you? Anyway, you wanted to speak to me", he motioned for Roger to sit down.

"L has expressed his view of Kira to be a little more…paranormal…than we think. Both of his Kira suspects have told him the same thing, though they've never spoken of it to each other. That there is an entity behind the killings, and the one we know as Kira gives that entity the information they need, a name and a face. The second Kira only needs to give a face", Roger sat down.

"How is he coping with this?" Dmitri asked.

"He has put both suspects in the same interrogation room and has them under complete surveillance. If one of them is Kira, two things will happen. The first option he had conveyed, is that one of them will die."

"That's rather harsh."

"Yes, I know. But that theory take into consideration that the human is being used by the entity. If that is true, then with only one other person in the room, one of them will die."

"And the second conclusion?" Dmitri reached over and poured them two cups of tea.

"That the killings stop. If no information of criminals reaches them, they won't know who to kill. That would confirm that one of them is Kira", Roger accepted his cup of tea and took a sip.

Dmitri twirled the cup, watching the liquid inside spin, "and if the killings go on as usual?"

"Then he will direct the focus of the investigation elsewhere."

"Mr. Ruvie, you've mentioned that one of the suspects is known by a member of my group. Who is it?"

"A girl named Mayra Amara. Former hacker known as May. We believe she took the name from a previous hacker. His name had been April, so it seems she considers herself as his sucesssor", Roger explained.

"Ah, I've met her. She's a friend of my future fiancée", Dmitri explained, "she seemed like a nice girl, what made her a suspect?"

"There was an incident a while ago where a gang hacker came into contact with a file that had L's identity on it. We believe she was the one who wrote that file", Roger took another sip.

"Then wouldn't it be contradictory? If she knew L's identity, she could kill him easily."

"We have reason to suspect that she knows about the plans to arrest her immediately in the case of L's death."

"I see…"

The older man stood up, putting the teacup down, "you mentioned something about a fiancée? Is she involved?"

"Yes, she is part of my research group. Lena Mihailov. She's done a PHD in molecular biology. She wanted to work as a heart surgeon, but it didn't work out and she was forced to take this job. I think I was one of the reasons, I wouldn't had to leave for Japan right after our engagement. Mayra has been her best friend since highschool", he explained.

"I see. Try not to tell her that it's Mayra that is in interrogation. Excuse me for saying that it would not be beneficial for anyone if your group figures out too much about L, you will be communicating with him via computer screen. Mayra is directly involved with L, and is suspected to know things about him that even I do not. That is as much as Watari, L's supervisor, has told me. If Miss Mihailov finds out about Mayra's involvement, she might learn things that you are not supposed to know", Roger put his finished tea down an stood up, taking his leave. Dmitri followed him to the door.

"I understand Mr. Ruvie. Myself and my team will do all we can for the investigation."

**I've always seen Matt and kind of easy going and maybe a little unexpected, but what did you guys think? All the stories here that i read are either in the Matt/Mello/Near or the L/Light/Misa/investigation team, so i wanted to incorporate a little of the Wammy's House characters while I developed the plot for the new arc.**

**A day without sunshine is like, well, night.**


	19. Sure of Nothing

**Here's the next chapter, sorry it took a while i just went through the first IB hell week. Thank you for all the reviews, they inspire me more than you think :)**

**Chapter 19**

He stood in front of the door and and hesitated for a moment, like he'd always done. Then, he'd always walked away slowly without having gone in. But now he had a reason to go in, and she wouldn't be there anyway.

The door opened slowly as he inserted the hotel card which had been in her pocket. It was a nice room, L decided he'd keep paying her rent while she was under interrogation. It wouldn't do if she didn't have a place to stay after she was let out. He shook his head fiercely, there was still a chance…

That she was Kira. That she would never be let out. He had to remind himself of that constantly. It would do no use to be broken down if she really was Kira. He was L. He didn't let these things get to him.

The room was a little messy, but it was clearly a form of organized mess. It wasn't like there were things lying on her floor, but her bed was not made and some of her clothes were spread out on it, disarranged. She had probably been too tired to put them away. L walked over to the closet to continue his search. When he opened it he found nothing but her clothes. There were pants on one side, separated into formal and informal. Beside them were skirts, and then on the other side were tops. In the small dresser next to the closet were underwear…he didn't spent too much time looking through them. It felt too much like an invasion.

Finally he approached the nightstand where her laptop rested. It was a Mac book pro, silverfish white and almost perfectly kept. There was a 82 percent chance that it was her most prized possession…

He turned it on and put in the jump drive Watari had given him to skip the password. Just on a whim, he went into the System Preferences to see what her password had been, maybe it had contained some information…

588ohfsli48hIHsGJKD

No use, just a randomly generated alpha-numeric. He should have known better from a techie like her. He browsed through her file system and inserted the jump drive again, this time using the search spider with the keywords he had requested. Nothing interesting. He gave up on it and tried her email, using a cheat he had learned from Watari a long time ago. He browsed through her emails, and then typed 'Kira' in the search.

A few emails came up. 98 percent of them were from sender _LMihailov_. The name immediately registered as one of the medical reearchers he had sent for. He opened a conversation and began reading from the first send.

_You haven't been calling me, May!_

_Sry sry, been busy_

_With what? Y r u going to uni there anyway?_

_Well…that's kinda for a personal reason. _

_R u working as a cyberpunk for a Japanese org? U no, there's oppourtunities away from the underground…_

So May had been working underground. A criminal history…he had suspected that. It reduced her likeliness of Kira by a little, but it still wasn't enough. He froze there, and realized what he was doing. He was supposed to find evidence to prove she was Kira, but he was trying to find proof to prove she wasn't…

He stopped himself from lingering on those thoughts and continued reading.

_Not like that, I'm kinda involved in sumthing. _

_Ur in trouble rite? Lemme help, my transfer's been approved. _

_I don't think u should. Anyway, hows it going with the lucky guy?_

_Ive got to introduce u guys! You'd totally approve, hes the best. Ill introduce u when we come to japan!_

_Looking forward to it!_

_When can I meet youre lucky guy then huh?_

_Nah, not interested in that stuff._

_Oh come on, return the favor!_

_One day maybe, Lena_

_Can't wait! You don't settle for anything but the best!_

L stopped reading here. So the girl's really was Lena Mihailov. That proved the information he'd received from Roger. He wondered if it was really a coincidence… May was friends with Mihailov. Close friends, by the look of it. The lucky guy she had mentioned was probably Dmitri Arsov. He vaguely remembered the photo of Dmitri in the proile he had read. Tall and slightly lanky, with medium length black hair and greenish brown eyes. His face was neatly angled, L suspected it was the face of a musician. Or an artist. He came across as someone who was artistic. He supposed Dmitri had the kind of sophisticated good looks that proclaimed mystery. He remembered the profile of Lena as well, she was a golden blond, and green eyed to match. She had the type of face that told you she was all looks no brain but he knew that according to her records she was incredibly smart in biology.

Roger had said Dmitri had called Mihailov his future fiancée. They were somehow connected to May, was it a coincidence? Was it something more?

He exited the room thinking about how Mihailov had said May settled for 'nothing but the best'. No wonder she'd gone for Light. He may have been a Kira suspect, but he was nothing short of perfect. He made any girl fall at his feet. And Light liked her too, he found her a challenge. Probably the only girl who didn't do whatever he said. He walked to the elevator, a little glumness showed up in his walking. For some reason, he felt left out whenever he thought of Light with May. He'd finally admitted to himself that they were his very first friends. He didn't know what they thought of him, but he hoped they considered him a friend. It had started on the very first day, at the university. The three of them, with perfect scores. The three top students, he felt like he could belong there. And then when classes started and everyone stared at them. Them, the top students in everything they tried, L had felt like he was one of them. Like he was part of a group that he belonged in. But then it had to happen, May and Light had to fall for each other. And then he was left out. In the end they saw nothing but the letter letter he used that proclaimed only his intellect. They never saw Lawliet.

They really were perfect for each other. Light was good-looking, charismatic, social, and also a genius. Everything a girl would dream for. And May was independent, intelligent, and interesting. She was the type of person you could never get bored of…Even he could see that they were the perfect couple. He could never imagine a relationship like theirs turning out.

He walked back to his floor and was greeted by Watari with a nod of his head. He nodded to acknowledge him, and then went to sit in the surveillance room. Like he'd been doing for the last three weeks. Even his sweets weren't enough to take the pain out of him. He didn't know where it came from. He didn't know what caused it. But it was there, like someone was twisting his chest in circles. And it wouldn't go away.

I woke up slowly and forced myself to sit. My hair had fallen out of it's clip again. I reached up to redo it with hands that were lethargic from over-sleep. It was the only way to escape the boredom. I hated boredom. I hated it with a passion. But now it was there, all around me. Nothing to do. Nothing to say.

Light was there, but we never spoke to each other. He seemed just as broken as me. He appeared perfect on the outside. Just a wrongly-condemned murderer, trying to prove his innocence. He was in bad shape. The lethargy had gotten to him too. He'd been doing to the same thing as me, forcing himself to sleep. It usually never worked. But sometimes it would, and we would both drift off into another forced sleep, and wake up with lethargy weighing down our limbs. It was hard to bear, but we still slept.

I looked up to see Light looking at me. His eyes were downcast, and he didn't hold his head high like he usually did. This time, he didn't look away.

"So how are you? It's just that we never talk, and I'm worried we'll both go mad", he gave me a small smile. It was an apologetic smile.

"I'm alright, I guess. Though I'd give a fortune to go for a run right now. You don't look too good though", I told him. There was no use being cruel to him. It wouldn't be long before he gave up his death note, and then he would just be a normal person. A normal Light.

It was true though, he looked in bad shape. His usually full form was getting thinner. His shirt draped off his shoulders as if it would fall of at any moment. And he hadn't gotten up in over three hours. I think he'd asked to use the restroom back then.

"Yeah, I agree."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, where he looked down. Then his eyes lifted again and met mine, "May, I don't think you're Kira. If I'm not unconsciously Kira, do you think we could…try again?"

I was surprised at that. I didn't think he'd say that when we knew L was watching.

"Why don't we get out of here first?" I suggested, giving him a small smile. He seemed satisfied.

"You're right. This time we'll be legit though. This false pride isn't doing me any good. I need to get rid of it", he whispered. My eyes widened slightly. Ryuk came in through the wall.

"Are you sure? Ok then…" the shinigami reached down, and Light winced.

I never expected to happen right then. But I kept my expression stable. Ryuk drifted over to me and started laughing. He laughed for what seemed like an eternity. I bit my lip and waited for him to speak.

"So you were right, little hybrid child. He really did give up his death note. I don't know how you knew it, but you predicted it perfectly. Well, I'm here now, just like you asked. What do you want me to do?"

I didn't do anything.

"Oh right, you can't speak at the moment. Well then, I'll wait for you to get out of interrogation and inform you of what's going on outside. I can go as far as I want now, since I don't need to stay next to my death note's owner. Do something if you want to say ok."

I absentmindedly pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, signaling an OK.

He nodded and went off. I sat there and waited.

Suddenly, Light started.

"Ryuzaki! Are you there?" He yelled.

"Yes, what is it?" L's synthetic voice replied coolly.

"I've just realized something! This is all a mistake! I'm not Kira! Please, you have to let me out, I'll help you catch Kira, I want to help. This is wasting time! Don't you see? I'm not Kira!" His eyes took on a look of desperation.

"I can not do that. You told me yourself not to let you out until I could confirm that you weren't Kira. Therefore you have to stay in there."

"I know I said that! I wasn't thinking clearly, I was mistaken. This is all a mistake. We should be spending this time catching Kira!" He yelled.

"Light, criminals have stopped dying. Do you know what that means? Either you or May is Kira."

"That means Kira is someone we know, he's trying to frame us. Don't be blind, Ryuzaki! Let's catch Kira together, all of us", his voice got softer, pleading.

Through all of it, I sat there quietly. Pretending to be a little surprised. I brought my knees up to my chest on the floor and buried my head on them. I toyed with the clip in my hair.

"That's not possible, Light. However, I have something to ask May", the synthetic voice said. I looked up towards the camera.

"You've used illegal methods of hacking in the past haven't you?"

I turned my head to one side, "well yes, hacking generallt tends to bend the laws. However I don't directly retierve information, so even if I was found out, I would be hard to place a law-breaking directly on me", I replied. For once, I wondered why he brought that up. Why now?

"Do you ever make contact with other hackers you meet online?"

"If I see someone I'll usually say hi. Mainly to see if they'll get in my way, but a few of them have turned into my online gaming buddies", I admitted. I really didn't understand why he was asking these questions. What did my hacking have to do with anything?

"Was Lena Mihailov one of the people you met online like that?"

That's when I got a little suspicious. Then I started to feel twisted inside, I didn't want to tell him anything about Lena, I couldn't let her come into this.

"No, she was just a highschool friend."

"Well then, will she be coming to Japan anytime soon?"

That's when I decided this wasn't worth my time. This had nothing to do with the Kira investigation, he was probably looking into my past.

"Shut up", I told him bluntly.

"Speak, May. This is an interrogation, you'll answer my questions."

"Shut up", I said again, a little annoyed.

"Tell me."

Light looked up at this time, "Ryuzaki you're bothering her. Leave us alone. She has no obligation to speak to someone who us here waiting for one of us to die!"

"Speak, May. You've probably come to the conclusion already that this doesn't have much to do with Kira but I still need to know."

I'd had enough. The synthetic voice was tearing at my ears. I grabbed the clip I was fiddling with out of my hair and whipped it at the camera. It smashed the lense on impact with a satisfying crunch. The clip fell to the ground in pieces, the tiny screw that held the spring together had slipped out of it's hold.

"Stop talking", I told him calmly, "if you can say yourself that it has nothing to do with Kira then I have no intention of getting my friend involved in this mess."

Light gave me a supporting look and a small smile. We didn't hear the synthetic voice again for the rest of the day.

L walked out of the surveillance room a week later, unsatisfied with what had happened. Somehow he knew that May wasn't Kira. But she was hiding something else.

Kira was Light.

Or was he? That change in his behavior, what did it mean? What happened to him?

For once, L was confused. What changed Light? What was May hiding?

"Were there any changes?" Matsuda asked as soon as he'd stepped into the main room. The other officers looked at him expenctantly.

"No…none", he told them. He sat down and reached for a cupcake.

"Well, criminals have stopped dying, it must be one of them. And I'm willing to bet it's May", Chief Yagami announced. L gave him a blank look, he was a good man, but he let his emotions get in his way too often.

"Well we don't have anything to prove that—"

"It's not May."

Everyone stared at Matsuda's outburst.

"it can't be May", he continued, oblivious to the stares he recieved from the other officers. L looked at him. He was the opposite of the other officers, yet he had the same problem with his emotions. But he was probably right. There was no logical answer to it, but somehow L knew May was not Kira.

"But it's obvious! It has to be her! She gains L's trust so quickly, and she's smart too. How do we know she doesn't have police contacts that supply her with information? It has to be her!" Aizawa added.

"It can't be, because May isn't that kind of person", Matsuda debated.

"And how do you know that? She has skill in manipulation, she's good at hacking, she has contacts, there's no reason she's not!" Chief Yagami said. Matsuda glared at him, "she may be good at hacking, but she has a strong sense of loyalty and she's not the type to let anyone die. And she's not manipulative!"

"Of course she is, just look at how she convinced my son!" They were dangerously close to yelling now, but Matsuda held his ground.

"Chief, it's not May that's going after Light, it was the other way around, even I could see that. Are you too blinded by bias since Light's your own son? Light's a good person, but I could see that he was the one who started their relationship. In the beginning, it was obvious that she didn't even like him at all. But he got her to warm up to him, they became friends. Just because you don't like her doesn't mean she's Kira!" Matsuda whispered furiously.

"Light's been under surveillance, he never did anything. He's a good boy, he would never think of killing people. He has a strong sense of justice, but he's agasin't murder. I don't believe my son could ever be Kira", the chief told him.

"And May could never be Kira either. She saved Watari's life, and Ryuzaki's too, it would have been so easy for her to let them both die that time, if she was Kira she would never have missed an opourtunity like that", Matsuda retaliated.

"Saved Ryuzaki's life?" The Chief asked.

"Yes, that day when the gang discovered his real identity. She saved both of them, even I didn't know what to do at one point, but she kept calm all the way through and managed to rescue both of them and get us all out safely", Matsuda sank back in his seat, "there's no way she could be Kira. There's the fact that she's a hacker, don't they bend the laws sometimes? Kira wouldn't do that. Kira hates crime."

There was a period of silence in the room. L kept fiddling with what was left of his cupcake, listening patiently to their argument. He found himself warming to Matsuda, he was certainly not the smartest, but he had a good intuition.

"Why were we never told of this?" Yagami turned to L.

"I did not think it was nessecary, that is all", Ryuzaki answered. He sprinked chocolate powder on the remains of his cupcake and bit into it.

"Now even I don't know what to think…" Aizawa decided, "we can never be sure of anything."

"You're absolutely right. We can be sure of nothing."

Suddenly, Watari came into the room, "Ryuzaki, I have news, criminals have started dying again."

"That's great! We have to go tell Light!" Matsuda sprung up and started toward the surveillance room.

"No! Don't tell them yet", L stopped him and motioned him to return to his seat. Then he walked over to the surveillance room again.

"Light, May, it's been almost two months since criminals have stopped dying. Now, which one of you ready to confess?"

**Don't forget, reviews cause me to get my head out of my current science book, which causes my head to focus on other things non-related to said book, which causes millions of plot ideas to rush out, which causes the magic that is known as writing!**


	20. April, May

**Answer to a review asking why i didn't put cheif Yagami under confinement too: ****Well i didn't see the point. I mean, he wasn't a Kira suspect, L only put him there because he asked for it. In the anime Light was the only suspect and the cheif was ridded with sadness and denial. Here, he's almost sure that it's May so he's not as stressed. **

**Anyway, next chapter here. Hope you enjoy. I'm hoping to pass 100 reviews with this chapter. Oh and this is off-topic but if anyone knows something significant that Canada did to impact the result of the Vietnam War then let me know. I'm having trouble writing my paper since Veitnam was always recorded as America's war. **

**Chapter 20**

Twenty-percent chance they were up to no good.

The white headed boy followed the pair up to the library. They'd become notorious for being on 'that side of the rainbow', but Near knew better. Something was up. They'd been together all the time recently. Not that they weren't always together, just…more together than usual.

He settled behind a bookshelf and took out his puzzle, spreading it on the floor. He could listen from here, and if anyone saw him, they would just see him constructing his puzzle. This time he would find out exactly what two and three were up to. Because three was extra tired these days, and two had the look of someone with a purpose. What kind of purpose could one have here? Apart from becoming L, that is. Purposes were for grown-ups. Not for them. They were beyond that, or at least that's what Near though.

He took out the first black puzzle piece and held it into the light above. Then he took another one after quickly scanning the pile on the ground and held it next to the first. A perfect match.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Again? What I wrong with this picture? My Matt can't hack something, fucking pigs better start learning to fly…"

The boy in goggles looked back with a tired eyes, "something's wrong, I just know it. May hasn't been accesing her laptop, at least not the one with the ID you told me."

"I went through hell and back getting that number, it has to be right, why isn't it working?" The blond said, frustrated. They'd tried it every single weekend, the only spare time they usually got. So far it had been almost five tries, and none of them had worked.

"It is working! I can get through just fine, but it's like her laptop is blank. Someone's transferred all the files or something like that! And she's not responding to her email, not just to me, she hasn't responded to any emails for the past two months!" He ran his hands through his reddish hair, "time to give up Mello."

"No it's not! I refuse to be cut of all contact from this, if I can't contact May, then I'll contact someone else there", Mello gave it a good think-through, "what about…that policeman!"

"What policeman? Please don't make me do more of this hopeless stuff, I'm spending so much time with you the girls won't look at me anymore!" Matt complained.

"They called him…Matsuda. That was it, Matsuda. Search up all the Matsuda's in the Japanese police force, Kanto region. I'll be able to recgonise him if I see his picture", Mello leaned forward again in excitement.

"How the hell am I supposed to get into the Japanese police records? British police, I could do. Japan's on the other side of the world, there's no one I know who would have that information to steal from", the gamer looked hopelessly at Mello. Lately he'd been over worked more than the last three years put together. Secretly, he loved being Mello's boy, it got him a lot of recognition. Mello didn't make friends that easily. But this was way over, he swore if he spent one more all-nighter on his laptop he would get bedsores.

Mello sat back in one of the library chairs and thought. There had to be someone, someone who could have that information. Someone important enough…

Matt watched him with his goggled eyes, he really was addicted to this Kira catching. Speeaking of addictions…he took out a cigarette. He was about to light it when he caught the eye of a disapproving librarian. It was put away just as quickly, and left the gamer longing for his nicotine.

"Argh I can't think of anyone!" Mello pulled a book out of the shelf behind him and threw it at the opposite shelf, "but I can't be left behind!" He buried his head in his hands.

"Maybe…Roger."

The two guys looked up to see the shorter white haired boy peering at them shyly from behind the bookshelf Mello had thrown the book at.

"Roger is L's contact here in London, and since L is working with the police, he ought to have their records just in case." He walked out slowly from behind the shelf and reached a hand up to twirl a piece of hair between his fingers.

"What are you doing here, little shit. Go play with your toys", Mello growled. He turned to see Matt already searching Roger up.

"Hey! You don't answer to anyone but me Matt!"

The redhead looked up momentarily from his screen and paused.

"Hack into Roger's account and find files on the Japanese police", the blond instructed. Matt opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and turned back to his search.

"I was wondering what you two were doing. I never though it would be catching Kira. I suppose you've wanted to every since that gang incident where you were almost killed", the white-head looked at Mello.

"None of your fucking business", the blond replied darkly.

"I'm interested."

Mello raised an eyebrow, "what?"

"I'm interested."

"In what?"

"In helping you catch Kira."

Matt paused in his work, resisting the strong urge to laugh. Mello was doing this to beat Near, and now Near wanted to help him? He quickly went back to work as a glare was directed to him from his lovely slave-driver.

"Listen carefully, Near, cause I don't repeat myself. I. Don't. Want. Your. Help."

Matt whistled, "wow Mels you could almost hear the capitals…"

"We both know that we have a better chance with me here. You know the investigation team better, Matt has the information-retrieval skills, and I have a plan", Near continued to twirl the strand of hair.

"A plan?" Mello asked, anger temporarily gone.

"Yes, a plan. And I'm quite sure it will work."

Matt looked up from his laptop screen, "hey look, he's right. Roger has access to the info. Give me two more hours and it'll be at our fingertips. Let's work with him. He could be of help."

Mello growled a little, "fine, just for the time being", he sat down on a one of the library sofas and rested his head in one hand. "You heard the techie, two hours. Let's wait this out."

After a very uncomfortably silent one and a half hours, Matt finally announced his success.

"I got in! I opened the database, what's that name you told me to search for?"

Mello sprung up and rushed over to his laptop screen. Near followed closely behind. "It's Matsuda. Spelled M-A-T-S-U-D-A."

The gamer typed the name in and waited for the results to show up. When they finally appeared, there was a surprisingly large amount of entries.

"Shit…we have to go throught all that?" Mello asked. Matt spun in his chair, "not really. We can narrow it by appointed station."

"Mello said it was in the Kanto region. Bring up a map and let's try each of the stations there separately. There's shouldn't be too many", Near told him. Matt nodded and turned back, headed to Google maps. Once he was there he typed in the word 'station' and selected the Kanto region. Twenty five station names came up, with little arrows pointing to each.

"Well, let's try the first one…"

They spent the next hour looking throught every station, and searching for Matsudas in each. Around the nineteenth, they found him. It was THE Matsuda.

"Wait, stop right there!" Mello declared. Matt froze, "is this the guy?" he pointed to an old man, Taro Matsuda.

"No, it's the guy below him. The young one with the stupid smile", Mello confirmed.

"His name is Touta Matsuda. Age 26, and the only comments on him are that he's an excellent shot with a gun", Near observed, "there's his phone number. Let's give him a call and try to get a contact out of him."

Matt picked up his cell phone, which had already been made untraceable, and dialed the number on the screen. He waited for it to ring, and Near held his hand out for it.

"It'll be better if I talk to him. I assume it has a voice substitution?", the white-head asked. He took the phone on Matt's nod and held it next to his ear, waiting for it to be picked up. After four rings it was finally answered.

"Hello?"

Near took the careful way out, "I presume you are Touta Matsuda? If there are other people in the room with you, pretend I'm a good friend of yours. Are you alone?"

"No not really, you wanna hang out today evening then?" The cheerful voice answered. Mello could hear the faint uncertainity in his voice and hoped L wouldn't notice it if he was in the room.

"Alright then, I can not speak to you while there are other people in the room, so you must call me as soon as you find yourself alone. I am a friend of L's and I am only concerned for him, but you must not tell anyone about this call. Do you understand?" Near's voice was cool and calm, the guy would have no problem beliving he was with L.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you later then!" Matsuda answered. Near hung up and turned to the two other boys, "Now we wait for him to call us back."

"Hey I think we might actually be going somewhere with this!" The gamer exclaimed. Mello glared at him, "of course we are! We've got a Kira to catch." He leaned back into his chair, "I hope the loser calls soon. I don't wanna get bored here."

Matt peered out of their little circle of bookshelves for a librarian, and finding none, took out a cigarette. He sighed in delight as his lighted it and took a breath.

"That is a bad habit Matt. Especially for someone as young as you. You should quit", Near told him calmly after a few minutes of silence.

"Piss off. He wouldn't be Matt without his fags", Mello told him firmly. Matt hesitated before putting the cigarette back in his mouth.

"I'm getting bored. When's the tie gonna call?"

"Patience Mello, patience."

After a few hours of being very patient and reading any book they could get their hands on, the call finally came. During that time, Near and Mello had been silently competing on who could get the tallest "already read" pile. Matt had been poking away on his DS.

_Ring. _

Matt jumped for the cell and tossed it to Near, who caught it neatly.

"Hello?"

"It's Matsuda. What did you want earlier?" The voice was a little nervous.

"I am F. As I have already stated, I have an intrest in secretly helping L catch Kira. He will not succeed in the way he is currently operating, of that I have been informed. Now I want you to tell me everything about the current state of investigation", Near said it in a calm voice that soothed the other man's nerves into suspicion.

"How do I know that you are who you say? I can not give you any information", he replied.

"How may I prove to you that I personally know L?...Let me see, perhaps you would be satisfied with a description and list of attributes?" Near motioned 'writing' with his hand to Mello. The blond immediately grabbed a piece of paper from nearby and scribbled furiously on it.

"Well, he's rather tall in stature but slouches so it doesn't appear to be so. He's very fond of sweets and consumes a full diet of glucose. He's suspects Kira to be a person from age 16 to age 25….he currently stays at Tokyo Hotel and attends To Oh university in criminal phycology…his main Kira suspect is Light Yagami…do I need to specify anymore?" Near read off the list of 'things about L' that Mello was hurriedly scribbling down.

"Oh, well, you seem to know him personally as well…fine then. If it's for L's sake then I'll tell you what he's planning. Right now he's imprisoned both L and May…oh right you might not know who May is. She's in the investigation, and L's second suspect. Anyway, they're under interrogation in the room together. He says they've both produced a theory that Kira is being controlled by an entity that requires him to kill. So apparently if that's correct, one of them will die in there and the other will be Kira. If it's wrong, there's still the chance that criminals will stop dying, which means one of them is Kira. If nothing happens he says he'll 'change the course of the investigation'. That's all I know", he told them breathlessly. Mello smiled, the guy was a real idiot if he was giving info this easily. He'd expected it to be a lot harder to retrieve.

"I see, and what has happened so far?"

"Criminals stopped dying when they were first imprisoned, and it went like that for two months, but just now they started dying again. But L won't tell them, instead he went up and he's telling them no criminals have been dying and he's demanding a confession. I don't know why, it's obvious that neither of them is Kira. It was probably someone who was trying to frame one of them. And then Kira got bored of waiting and started killing again", Matsuda said, "I feel sorry for them they're in horrible condition! They need to get out."

Mello and Matt got a look of realization, that was why they couldn't contact May! She was under interrogation…

But what was L planning now? Mello leant down and whispered into Matt's ear.

"Hey Matty listen, if I gave you the time the criminals started dying again, what kind of information would you need to get me the video feeds of the interrogation of Light and May that happened at that exact time? Would Mr. Tie here be able to get it for you?"

Matt pasued and thought, "yeah maybe. Depends how good he is at hiding a camera and sneaking around. Ask him Near."

Near turned back to the phone and took his hand off the mute, "listen, do you think you can sneak a camera into the investigation headquarters? I want you to videotape the interrogation at the time that the criminals started dying again. And for about thirty minutes around that point. That's one hour in total."

"Umm, well, I guess I could do that. The surveillance is available for all the members of the investigation. The only problem will be getting a camera through the security, but I'm good at that stuff", he replied from the other end.

"Good. Then proceed with that as soon as possible. Call is when you have the video, understand?"

"Yes, understood. I have to go now, but I'll make sure to call when I'm done."

They hung up the call and looked at each other with eyes filled with success.

"It seems that we have succeded in gathering a spy for ourselves. This Matsuda has a profile of being good at field work, though he does not sound very smart. He will be usefull", the white-head commented. Matt punched a fist into the air, "oh yeah, we gonna go Kira hunting! This is so cliché…" he said in mock happiness.

"Yeah, now we just have to wait…"

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"I'm not Kira!" Light exclaimed, "this is a mistake L! Let me help you, I'm no use trapped here!"

I didn't say anything.

"And you May?" The synthetic voice asked.

"I have no need to say anything. I'm not Kira. There's a reason I came to you, there's something that would have happened by now if I really was Kira", I tilted my head to one side and looked up at the camera screen, "and I'm a hacker aren't I? Kira would define me as a criminals too."

"Well then if no one of going to confess, then both of you can stay in there", the voice said.

I raised an eyebrow, "wait, so all I need to do to get out of here is say that I'm Kira? Really? Cause I don't know how Kira kills but I'll mock confess if you want me to…"

"I want a real confession, May. And there's a reason I suspect you as well."

"Oh? What reason?" I was a little curious. Suddenly the blank projector screen in front of me lit up with a picture.

It was a picture of him. I smiled at the memories, I never saw him very often but I'd spoken to him online very often. My literal favorite person. Him with his childish smile, big glasses, creamy skin. We had a very teacher-student relationship because at the time I'd known him I was only a freshman in highschool and he was reaching twenty-five. Some of my friends had thought he was my older boyfriend whenever he'd come to pick me up from school, he was young enough to look only twenty. But we hadn't been like that exactly, he had been my idol. The picture on the screen was one of him in on of his typical wide-shouldered shirts, visible collarbones emphasizing his slender frame. He was smilling and in the middle of nodding to whoever had secretly taken the picture. His glasses, with their thick black frames, were worn high near his eyes, and black hair fell over his forehead. He had been my idol. In fact, the only thing I could do that he couldn't was run. He was the least physically fit person I'd ever met and I'd teased him regularily for it.

"You knew this man didn't you?" The synthetic voice asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"When he was alive, he spoke his thought on crime, specifically murder, very clearly. There have been many instances where he's said that murderers should die. That they deserved no less than death. And he was known for smiling every time he said it."

"Yeah, he did that", I replied. I didn't really want to speak about him, even though I was proud of him.

"He was a German immigrant to Canada. I know a lot about him, you see I've declines many cases which involved me to track him down and find him guilty of a crime. He operated very much like the way you operate now. Even though he was a hacker, he never did anything but open the door for his clients, and so he could never be charged for anything. Name, Alfons Reineherd. But to the members of his occupation, and to you he was known as-"

_April. _Yeah, I knew that.

"-April. "

He's been the one to give me my nickname. Even though my name was originally pronounced _Mi-ra_ he jokingly said that maybe I could be little apprentice, his little May. And it had stuck. I didn't know how L knew so much about him, but I wondered if he discovered the important thing about my relationship with April. That we'd met over Death Note. He'd been the one to recommend the series to me, and he was a die-hard Light fan as well. Ever since then he'd made his views on the world clear to everyone, murderes, thieves, they should all die.

"He was known as one of the best hackers in the information technology black market. And I got further interested him when a contact of mine noticed the connection between your code names. Now what if, after he died, you got this power and decided to use his idea? How did you meet him?"

I decided to just tell the truth, "my dad was a client of his. We didn't really meet at the time, but I was sitting on the dining table with my latop at the time, and I was trying to hack into the school database. I wanted to change my marks for my computer class, they were too low. I guess he saw me trying while he was talking to my dad. He left after the business was over. A few days later I was in the book store looking at manga and he came and recommended one to me. I bought it and took it home to read and found it really good. When I went back to buy the next book he was there again and he gave me a different approach on hacking into the school database. It worked. Every Saturday after that, I went to the bookstore to see him and we talked about the manga series he had recommended. Eventually he started teaching me tips on hacking."

"That strengthens my point, May. There's a good chance you wanted to fulfill his dream of having criminals die, so you used your power to start killing. Can yo say anything agasint it?"

That was weird, he sounded a little hopefull, as if he wanted to prove me wrong. Could it be that he needed my presense back at headquarters and so he decided to prove me innocent as fast as possible?

"I'm not Kira. I don't really know how to prove it, since technically speaking anyone could be Kira. But you'll soon come to realize that im not Kira", it was the best explanation I could give him for the moment. I really didn't know how to prove myself innocent.

"Fine then. I'll be going now. Just call if one of you is ready to confess being Kira."

Damn this was infuriating.

"So he was your teacher?" Light asked from opposite to me. I looked up to see the curiosity in the eyes.

"Yeah, he taught me a lot about hacking. Not just purely computers, but open signals too…"

"So why doesn't L suspect him instead of you?"

I sighed, "well, he died. He was murdered by one of his competitors."

"Oh. I'm sorry…"

"No, it's alright. I'm over it", I ran my hand through my hair.

"Well, I don't think you're Kira, but I see why L suspects you", he smiled.

"Gee thanks…" I couldn't help but smile at him in return.

**Help me reach my over-100 review goal!**


	21. She's Innocent

**Next chapter is up!**

**I'm thinking of changing the summary into something more interesting. Any ideas? ****I'm also open to funny/any-other-genre one-shot ideas. And story ideas too. If anyone has a good story idea out there (and doesn't want to write) just send it in and i'll consider it. I've wanted to expand and write more stories on here. All the anime i want to write for are on my profile. **

**oh and i'm thinking of doing something nice for the 150th reviewer! Maybe a one-shot of a situation of their choice or something along those lines. I'll bring it up again when I get to around 130. **

**And, my new arc has been fully thought out and ready to write! This is a kind of introduction to it. **

**Chapter 21**

The next morning, the door was opened. I woke from the sound since it was so quiet, even the opening of a door could wake me. Light looked up from where he had been sleeping in an upright position. It was Watari, followed by chief Yagami.

"What is it?" I asked, lethargy slurring my voice slightly. The two men didn't speak, they only came over to us.

"Follow us", the chief said briskly. We slowly got up on legs that felt like jelly and followed him out of the interrogation room.

"What's going on?" Light asked from beside me. I shook my head, "I don't know…"

We were lead to a closed parking lot in the back entrance of the hotel, and rushed into a black car. Yagami sat in the front driver's seat and Light and I sat in the back. Watari didn't get in, he whispered something to the chief and left the car.

"Dad, what's happening? Where are we going?" Light asked in a nervous voice.

"Stay silent", the chief instructed severely. I could hear Light gulp softly. I gave him a reassuring look and he managed a small smile.

We kept driving for a good hour before I got impatient. I was curious, where were we going? We were driving on deserted roads, with grassland on wither side of us.

"Chief Yagami, why can't you tell us where you're taking us?"

He ignored me. Suddenly I got a weird feeling, like déjà vu. Which was common since I was living death note. But this feeling was strange because I wasn't sure what scene in the anime this related to. I couldn't remember properly. This was definitely something I should have known…I decided to make myself heard again.

"Dad! What's happening! Where are we, you're not answering anything!" Light beat me to it.

The car stopped. For a while there was silence, and we could feel pangs of fear creep up on us. Something was wrong. The chief was behaving strangely. What happened at this time in the anime? When Light was released…he was taken in a black car with Misa…Oh! I remembered. This was the part where the chief pretended to have to kill his son and himself instead of turn him over. And L would be watching from the front mirror…I felt a little reassured by that though, but there was still this feeling of danger. As if I didn't really believe myself.

"Listen, we've come to a conclusion", the chief finally said, "Right now, Light is Kira and May is the second Kira. Before, Misa used to be the second Kira, but for some reason, she's not Kira anymore. May has become Kira. So we have a plan."

"Dad, you know I'm not Kira. You know that! And May isn't Kira either, she's a good person! You can't do this…Ryuzaki's made a mistake. Please, dad…" Light's voice quivered. I almost felt sorry for him. He really believed his own father thought he was a murderer…

"I'm supposed to take both of you to an underground execution center. Once you two are dead…the killings will stop and we can say that we've disposed of Kira…" He was a great actor. His expression showed all the pain a father would have felt in his situation.

"But…I can't do it, Light! I can't see my own son dead like that…so I've decided that we're going to die here. Together. I'll kill you and then myself. Mayra, you can go. I don't care if you're Kira. Go run off and kill more people. I just want to die here with my son", he took out a gun with shaking hands and pointed it at Light.

I decided to do something here, I needed to act as well, act like this was really happening.

"Stop! Chief don't do it! He's your son! Don't kill your own son!" Light grabbed my and I tried to lean over and push him away from the gun. Unfortunately the car was only so small. I reached over to the other side and fumbled with the lock, bracing my hand against Light's side in order to push him out as soon as the door was open.

It wouldn't open.

We were pushed together in the corner of the backdoor, the chief's gun pointing in our direction. I was really quivering, my mind knew this was fake but my body didn't.

"Move, Mayra. I have nothing to do with you. Just let me die here with my son…" he pointed the gun and I widened my eyes. Light's arms grew tighter around me and I turned my head into his shirt, squeezing my eyes shut as if expecting for the shot ay moment. If he really did shoot a bullet, then it would go through both of us, though my right lung and then through Light's heart…

"Dad!"

Light's scream was the last thing I heard before a deafening shot ran out. I could feel Light shaking uncontrollably, his hands were fisted into my collar. For a second, the adrenaline was flowing unbearably fast through my veins, the world seemed to stand still. It took an entire two minutes before either of us were able to open our eyes. When I did open mine, I saw the chief looking at Light first, and then me. His eyes were filled with relief. The gun withdrew. Light turned his hands over me to look for bullet wounds, and found none. I looked down as well. It took a moment for us to realize that we weren't dead. I pulled away slowly and gave the chief a look of disbelief. And then Light. He was looking at his father, shock in his eyes.

The chief turned to look at the central mirror, "did you see that, Ryuzaki? Are they free of suspicion now?"

"Yes, you acted very well. You may bring them back to the investigation headquarters", the synthetic voice spoke out of the small mike in the middle.

"I'm so sorry, Light, May. I had to do it, it was the only way to clear you from suspicion. I'm so sorry for scaring you like that…" The chief gave us a genuine smile. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Light, I think you're free of suspicion of being Kira now. And May", he turned to me with a bright look, "I think I can see you differently now. I have to admit, I didn't like you very much before, I thought you were conceited. I expected you to run when I took out the gun. But you stayed, and you tried to protect Light too. You're not the person I thought you were, so I can honestly give you my good wishes."

It didn't register for a second, but I went slightly red when I understood what he implied. With Light…

"Um, no sir it's not exactly like that…"

He laughed and winked at Light, who gave him a annoyed look. I settled back in my seat.

The rest of the ride was made in relieved silence. I felt like a huge weight was being taken off my shoulders. I was in control again. L was starting fresh, Light wasn't Kira anymore, Misa wasn't Kira anymore, and Ryuk answered to me. There was literally nothing to be afraid of now. I wondered how much of this wonderful time we would have before L got depressed and Light discovered Yotsuba. Maybe I would notice that instead. And be a little more useful…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"L, I have something to tell you", Watari began, uncomfortable. He knew how smart his protégée was, and it would be hard to explain it without causing more suspicion in his mind. The detective turned around curiously.

"What is it, Watari?" L knew Watari had been acting a little shifty since May's confinement.

"What if I told you that…May was not Kira? What would you say?"

"Well I believe you've just told me, and I would ask you where the proof was", he sipped at his sugar filled tea, "therefore, you would need to prove to me why May is so certainly not Kira."

The old man shifted, "I can't tell you that, but it's because of something May told me. You see, it has something to do with her knowing your name. I can't tell you any more. But she's on your side. I know it may not seem like it sometimes, but she's only here to make sure you don't die. I…I never believed what she had told me at first, but she was able to prove it."

"Then why doesn't she prove it to me?"

Watari handed the detective an ice cream cone, "I don't know. Maybe she thinks she'll disturb something, or ruin something. Maybe it's to keep a paradox from happening…"

L's thumb was in his mouth as he accepted the cone, "paradox?"

"As I said, I cannot say any more. Trust May. If anyone can make sure you get through this alive, it's her."

"Lately she seems to be on Light's side doesn't she? I mean, they are such good friends. How could she willingly be friends with Kira if she wasn't involved somehow?" he took a lick off the ice cream and then sipped more tea.

"Perhaps she is trying to get information from him? I am not so sure about it. However, I do know that I won't talk of this anymore. Your new plan for them, don't include May in it."

L sighed, "very well. Bring me handcuffs. Handcuffs with long chains. Just one set."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.

When we got back to the headquarters, we were met immediately by Matsuda. He rushed up to the door and grasped both of out hands enthusiastically.

"I knew you guys weren't Kira I knew it! Welcome back to the Kira investigation! I should take you out for lunch to celebrate…wait that's not a good idea I'm broke…" He still gave us a happy smile.

"Then let me treat. I've got money", Light suggested. He received a slight punch on the shoulder by his father, "are you telling all your friends that, Light? Because you don't have money anymore."

I laughed, "maybe I should take the chance then."

"How is it that the uni student has more money than we do? I thought all students were broke!" Matsuda whispered to Light. I turned to him and gave him a devious look, "from a techie job I finished a few months ago. That's what's paying my university fees too." They both gave me looks of jealously. Hacking paid off.

"Well, let's get back to business", Ryuzaki cleared his throat, "May, your rent has been paid, however you will move into this floor and staying under surveillance here for the next month. Your room is room 363, right down the hall. You are also still a university student, Light as well. You two are good enough to make up for your leave by yourselves, if not you can ask me to arrange for lessons with your professors. The investigation is at a bit of a standstill right now, so the two of you and myself are going to have a little talk. The rest of the investigation members are free to leave, I only ask that their assigned work be finished before tomorrow. Aizawa, I am fine with you working at home today, you must spend more time with your family. You are starting to look a bit depressed and I do not want a depressed officer. Understood?"

Everybody nodded. I pondered what this 'talk' was going to be about. Obviously, he would keep his continuing suspicions of Light a secret. If I were L...I'd probably try to get off on a fresh start. Find new suspects, conduct a new investigation. If the talk was not related to the investigation…I wasn't too sure.

When the other officers left Light and I took seats in the couches near the table. L hopped off his chair and walked over to sit with us.

"Firstly, I have cleared May of most suspicion. Light has been cleared as well, but not as thoroughly so we will be wearing these for a while", he motioned to Watari and the old man brought over a pair of handcuffs. I almost laughed at Light's shocked expression, "wait, how will I operate with my hands together?"

"You won't have your hands together. One side is for me, and the other is for you", Ryuzaki held out one cuff. He latched the other onto his own wrist. Light didn't move to take it, preferring to sit there staring at the detective.

"Light, if you are attempting to telepathetically convey your dislike of the situation, you might as well think a little louder for I am not receiving your brain signals", L said, adjusting the cuff on his own arm.

After a few more moment of staring, Light wordlessly took of the cuff and reluctantly put it onto his hand. I could see his face burning with questions. Finally, he mustered the courage to ask one.

"Ryuzaki, how long will we be wearing these?"

"Until we catch the Kira I believe. Whether you are Kira or not. Well, if you are, you'll face much more than handcuffs", he casually popped a sugar cube into his mouth.

"Every day?"

"Yes I believe so."

"At what time each day am I allowed to go home?"

"You may go home if you need to collect anything, though I advise you to let your father do that. Other than that, you will stay here. We will be chained twenty-four seven", there went another cube.

"WHAT?" Light stood up awkwardly and glared at him, "where am I going to sleep?"

Ryuzaki paused, thinking. He put a finger to his lips, "I had forgotten about that…is a chair with a pillow to your liking or should I have a futon moved in here? I'd assumed you wouldn't bother with sleep since you wanted to help me so badly…"

Light put his head in his hands and groaned, "god please help me…"

"I will not attempt to kill you Light. May will be here as well, most of the time", he went on. I perked up in surprise, "me? Why am I here too? I thought I had a room?"

"The three of us are going to work on theorizing by outselves while the rest of the task force joins us for open investigation. I supposed you would be here most of the time, if you happen to feel sleepy I assume you already know how comfortable the couches are", another cube went in. I paled. If L wante to have theorizing sessiona at night, I was not going to get much sleep. That was bad. But one look at the recluse told me he probably had no clue what being tired felt like.

"I hope you're ready to share your sweets L, because we're going to need the extra energy…"

He looked up again, and met both our eyes, "now, onto our next topic. I have to admit now that I am feeling a little unmotivated. I have managed to solve thirty-three other cases while on the Kira investigation…and I haven't solved this one yet. So I wanted to have a conversation concerning everything we know so far that is a fact", he explained, "feel free to add anything you wish". I smiled, bingo.

"Well, original Kira needs a name and a face to kill", Light started.

"Kira can manipulate the time of death", I continued.

"And, to an extent, the actions of the victim before death", L said, "he is in the Kanto region of Japan."

"Second Kira can kill with just a face."

"Original and second Kira have probably met."

"Original Kira is very justified, whereas second Kira has no qualms about killing innocent people who get in his way."

"39 percent chance that Original and Second Kira met in Aoyama", L finished, "and then this is where we start losing facts and turning to theories. What is missing?" He took a sugar cube and placed it on the table.

"96 percent chance that Second Kira was Misa Amane", he placed another cube on top of it, "and…78 percent chance that Misa Amane is no longer Second Kira."

Light's eyebrows narrowed at this, "what do you mean 'no longer'. She's either Kira or she's not."

"She experienced a sudden change of character during confinement. I believe she's either lost her memories, or her Kira powers have been somehow lost", he put another cube on top.

"Probably the latter. There was no reason for her to suddenly lose her memory", I told him. He nodded. Suddenly he stopped building his tower of sugar cubes and turned to look directly at us.

"Light, May. Now, I want to debate with the both of you. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not pointing either of you out as Kira. But I want to see something. I want to debate about Kira, and I want the two of you to side with Kira's way", he paused for a moment and then continued his sugar cube pile.

"Well, alright then. I don't mind arguing the side. You can't deny that the crime rates have gone down", I started. I knew where he was going with this. He was trying to reassure himself. He wanted to know how Kira thought, never in his life had he needed to start a case over, and he considered it a failure.

"Well yes, but even a child can agree that killing is wrong", he disagreed. I felt a smile creeping up but held it in. I knew exactly what to say know.

"Why do they say that? Because that's what they've been taught. That's what's acceptable in society, so we all follow it. If you were taught that killing was perfectly fine since you were a child, then you would grow up into an adult who thought killing was fine. What Kira is doing is creating a better world in which only the good of heart can live."

"Who is Kira to decide this?" L bit his thumb.

"He doesn't decide this", Light offered, "humans have always followed survival of the fittest. Back in the ancient times, it was survival of the physically fit. Then it became survival of the physically attractive. And then survival of the skilled. In our century, before Kira, it was survival of the intelligent. And now, because of Kira, it's the survival of the good at heart. Anyone who thinks about this would realize that Kira is doing the world good by selecting the people who really deserve to survive."

"But what if some of these criminals had reason to commit crimes? What if they were only after revenge? Some criminals only want to kill those who have hurt those close to them. As the police, we offer them chances to speak, to justify their actions. Kira does not do this, he kills everyone", I could see that L was biting his thumb a little harder now.

"After a while, crime rates will be so low that there won't be anyone to take revenge against", I said softly. For some reason, I wanted to stop this, "in a few years, no crime will be committed, and no crime will be committed to take revenge against someone's previous crime."

"And everyone until that perfect world arrives, well, they're all necessary sacrifices", Light said. He was becoming more sure of himself. This was the Light who picked up the death note and started writing names in it. This was the Light who would kill. I started to get worried.

"These sacrifices are people. They cannot be disregarded, they are human beings just like us", he pulled his thumb away from his mouth and picked up a sugar cube.

"Well yes but-"

Light was cut of as the door opened. Watari walked in. I breathed a sigh of relief, any farther and the argument would have had an opposite effect of L's mind. My relief was cut off as I saw what Watari was holding. It was my laptop.

"L, there seems to be someone hacking into May's system. I don't believe she has any case information, but I felt the need to inform you of it", he held the laptop out to me. I took it and turned the screen up, immediately checking the file system. On the surface it appeared to be undisturbed.

"Whoever is attempting it is skilled. My open signal security systems barely picked it up. I still have trouble finding it", he explained.

"Will you be able to handle it, May?" L asked. I smiled in reassurance, "of course. Punk will know better than to mess with my pro." Light chuckled a little at that. My enthusiasm when it came to hunting probably amused him. I took a quick look at the desktop, and suddenly realized that my 'mail' app was fetching data. I clicked on it and was a little surprised to see over thirty messages loading. After they finished loading, I selected the very first one.

_Ignore past messages. We did not know you had been under confinement. We wish to obtain information on the Kira case, and use it to hunt Kira. To do that, we need information on patterns in the killings. In our current location we are unable to get this information, but we want to help catch Kira. There are three of us, I believe you know Mello from a previous association, and Matt seems to know you. My name is N. Reply as soon as possible with an answer. _

_-N_

So it was Near…and Matt was probably doing the hacking for him. I smiled a little. I would reply once I was back in my room. For now I just closed the laptop and gave Watari a satisfied smile, "done. It'll be bugging you searches for a while longer but hopefully all the traces will be gone by evening."

"Well, now let's get back to gathering information. Aizawa has just sent me his finished compilation of the new killing patterns", L motioned toward his computer and Watari brought it over.

The rest of the evening consisted of us doing trend finding work. It was a little boring. I wanted to finish fast. I needed to get back to my room and start packing my things to move into my new residence. Fast. Two reasons.

One, I needed to reply to Near.

Two, Ryuk had come back, and he'd been grinning the entire time.

**Hope you liked! Review me any summary ideas floating around in your brains! Or story/one-shot ideas**


	22. One, Two, Three

**Woah, huge chapter here. I never got any summary ideas :( but i still want to change it. **

**To the review about 'hybrid children' being expanded upon: Yes, in later chapters. **

**I have finally started the new arc i'd been planning! Yay! **

**Chapter 22**

I clicked the lock of my room shut tightly as I entered, then turned to look at the shinigami.

"Spill it, Ryuk. What's going on?"

"Well, was it ok that I followed Light's last intructions before his confinement?" Ryuk asked. I tensed, "did he tell you to bury your notebook?" That was what happened in the anime, he'd buried it under a tree and told Rem to show it to Misa at the right time.

"No, wrong. He told me to give it to someone who was willing to keep the criminal killings going. In return for doing that, the person could use the death note in anyway they wanted. I've…already chosen someone to give it to."

I grinded my teeth a little, "and what about Rem's note?"

"Oh so you do know about her, I was wondering about that. Well, she's been told the same thing."

My eyes widened, "so there are two new Kiras out there? Who are they?"

Ryuk laughed, "aww, do I have to tell you? Wouldn't it be fun if I didn't?"

"Just tell me. I don't have time for this", I growled. He laughed louder, and came closer until he was staring at me with those strange jeweled eyes centimeters from my face, "How much do you want me to tell you? Don't make me say everything, it'll look bad if you don't want a challenge"

"Just tell me where he or she is", I demanded. It was hard to keep myself from backing away from the monster, but I'd gotten used to seeing him so I was able to return his glare. After a few minutes, he finally backed off, "fine then. I won't be able to stay here for too long anyway. She's in France at the moment."

I processed the information, and then noticed something, "why did you say, 'at the moment'?"

"Because she' a journalist. She travels a lot. Her home country is France, I think, but she won't be there for long. I saw a plan to go to England on her bedside table. After that she said she was planning to go somewhere in Africa", Ryuk stepped back and grinned, "want to know any more?"

"When is she leaving France?"

"In three months. She really seems to like the death note, you know. She was perfectly fine with killing criminals as long as I let her use it for other purposes", he floated over to my desk and sat on top of it. "Wait, so this lady is using it for her own reasons as well?" I asked, picking up on the hint. He merely laughed, then paused, "I have to go now. I need to stay with my death note's owner. See ya later."

He flew out the window and I laid back on the bed, thinking about the information I'd gathered. I had planned to ask Ryuk more, but it was a matter of pride now. I had to find this fourth Kira without him. But how could I do it? She was in France, headed to England…that was too far away for me to hunt from Japan. Why couldn't Ryuk drop it any closer…then again, Light probably told him to drop it in a different country to make it harder. I turned over and rubbed my eyes, one thing was for sure; I couldn't let Light know about this fourth Kira. I'd have enough trouble stopping him from touching the third Kira's note, I didn't want to give him yet another chance.

Suddenly I remembered Near's email. I pulled myself up and walked over to my laptop, bringing the message up again. I smiled, this could work, but only if they were prepared to keep it a secret. I researched, browsing throught the new criminal killings. It was easy to find once I knew what I was looking for. A mistake, a glitch. Yes, it was there, the same mistake Light had made…I started typing.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"It's here, guys."

As soon as Matt uttered those words the other two came rushing over. Mello running and Near walking as fast as he could. According to Matsuda, May had been released, and so they had been waiting all day for her to reply to their message. Matt had insisted that it would arrive sometime in the day, a techie always made sure to check email at least twice everyday.

_So you three want to help? Since you are in England already, you can be of use. I have information that will allow you to directly hunt Kira, but first I need to know if all of you are willing to never reveal any of your involvement to anyone else but L. And you may only reveal your participation to L after you have caught Kira and handed him over to the task force. _

_Also, I hate to do this, but I know that you three are L's successors and I know a little more too. In case you violate our secrecy agreement if you accept, I can easily reveal your identities and make sure none of you can become the next L. _

_-May_

"Wow. I never thought we'd actually get in like this, she's pretty cool!" Matt said.

"How does she know our identities? And our location? Could she have found that out by tracing our message?" Near asked. he twiddled with a piece of hair. Matt turned his chair around, "yeah, she can get our location. I don't know how she knows that we're successors, but lets leave it for now, we don't want trouble."

"Matt's right. Let's accept. I don't really care about any shit she knows about us as long as she's wiling to give us info on Kira", Mello finalized the decision. Near nodded and they prepared a reply saying that they were willing to help.

The reply came withing minutes:

_That's excellent. I'll tell you one thing to start with, right now there are two Kiras out there. We don't know where one is, but I know that the other is going to move somewhere in France at the moment. Your job is to catch this Kira, while we of the task force deal with the one here in Japan. No one else here knows about the second Kira in France, but I've been able to find a small glitch in the killings. A death that was only reported in France. There have also been heartattack victims who were not official criminals, so this Kira must be killing for more private reasons as well. That should give you a lead to investigate on. Don't forget that he can kill by other means than heartattack. Kira needs a name and a face to kill. Some Kiras can kill with just a face. Kira can control the time and actions leading up to death. Anything else is probably already known to you. _

_You have three months to find Kira. Matt can accept my face-talk invite so we can share all the information we gather every few days. _

_If you fail, you will have to pretend none of this ever happened. _

_-May_

"Fail? No way in hell. We'll have him caught within the week", Mello pounded his fist against the air, "Matt, ask her who this glitched killing was." Near bit his thumb, "yes, that would be useful. Matt typed away. The reply came almost immediately.

_A man named Chistien Beauregard. He was a petty thief, who's crime had only been announced in a French newspaper. You can find his death in the files I am forwarding to Matt's computer. _

"Check to see if the files have arrived", Near instructed. Matt opened the attachment, and there it was. A file of all the new killings made after May and Light had been released. Mello whistled, "wow, this is a lot of info. It'll be easy, we're already in England, close to France. We can catch him in no time with all of this info.

"Yeah, but remember this dude's killing for his own purposes too isn't he?", Matt swiveled in his chair to face the other two.

"We will have to investigate not only the crimes being committed, but also the other killings done in the country. If we assume that Kira is somehow manipulating these people's minds, that includes suicides. May has given is the start, but we need to gather more information", Near added.

"And then we can find connection between the victims and lead it to one person", Mello finished, "let's get started. Most of the criminal killings are available in the CIA's digital databases aren't they? Matt already has access to them from something we had to find a long time ago. Bring them up Matt."

"Already on it", Matt was typing furiously, "but you know, it'll take a while. The CIA changes their passcodes every hour, and they're all ridiculously long. My jump drive will try out the finding program on every alphanumeric recorded in it, but it'll take a while for one to match with the new update. All I can gather so far is that there's a 30 percent chance it'll hit within the next two hours. 60 percent to the next four hours and so on to 99.9."

Mello grumbled and went back to his library seat. Near watched Matt from where he stood, obviously impressed. He had underestimated number Three. Number Three was useful, very useful. Mello was useful too. Mello had a good attitude, and he picked up on things easily. He knew how to get what he wanted, and that could be very useful. Yes, numbers Two and Three were useful.

"How about we meet back here in two hours to check the status?" Matt suggested. Near nodded, "very well. I will come back here in two hours." He walked away slowly.

"I still can't belive we're working with him", Mello complained after the white-head had gone, "it's just…weird."

"Give him a chance Mel. He's useful, you know that", Matt closed the screen of his laptop to allow it to work in peace.

"Yeah I guess. What do you wanna do while the thing works?" The blond took out a chocolate bar and bit down on a corner. The sound of snapping chocolate rung out in the quiet room. All the other students had left, preferring to play outside since it was such a beautiful snowy day. Those who weren't outside had probably gone to the common room to chat or play chess by the fireplace. Or maybe they were in the cafeteria munching on lunch leftovers. Two and Three never played with the other children. Mello had used to, when he was younger, but then he'd gotten…angry. The other children thought he was cool, but they were usually to afraid to befriend him. Matt didn't like anyone but Mello. It wasn't that they were annoying, they were just…not Mello. There were only three things he would willingly admit liking. Video games, cigarettes, and Mello. Near was alright, but he wasn't Mello either. Or a video game. Or a cigarette. Above that, his Mello didn't like Near, so Matt kept a distance.

"Let's just walk around or something. I'm getting numb by sitting here for so long, I want to get some food", Matt complained. The blond nodded and stood up, headed to the cafetieria. The two got there to find it mostly empty. There were only a few students in there. When they went over to the food tables, Mello eyed the leftovers. The children never finished everything that was made, so the cooks left the food out for a few hours after lunch so that at least the desserts would be finished.

The only other person there was a girl wearing two ponytails.

"Hey Linda, anything good?" the blond asked. He had a sort of grudging indiffrence towards number Four. At least she wasn't annoying. The girl turned around, ponytails swishing, "there's still chocolate cake over there, not as good as yesterday's but it was brought out after most people left the caf so it's still nice and melty."

Matt automatically went over and got them two pieces of chocolate cake. Whammy's House had nothing but the best, including the best cooks. The food was always awesome. He cut a small slice for himself and about hald the cake for Mello. The blond took the plate handed over to him and they found clean seats on the long lunch table.

Mello picked at his cake, "we should look up this Christien Beauregard. We need to know exactly where his death was reported. That'll help us narrow down the area where he is. What I'm curious about…is how he kills…"

"Lets forget about that for now. You might chicken out if you found out he was killing with some supernatural power", Matt grinned. The blond glared at him, "what did you say?"

"Aww come on we both know it's true. You'd come to some weird realization that God sent Kira down to cleanse the earth or something and then repent for your efforts on trying to stop God's messenger of good. And then they'll go all your chances of becoming the next L", Matt grinned again, and shoved a piece of his untouched cake into the blonds mouth, which was open in disbelief that Matt would say something like that. Mello angrily pulled back and chewed on the chocolaty bite, "don't do that, there are other kids here and those rumors had just started to kinda die down."

"I know, but I'd just started to get used to them so it's a shame", the gamer replied, "you can have my slice. You look like you need the extra chocolate", he looked at one of the younger boys who had been staring at them the entire time and gave him a wink. The boy blushed and turned away. It wasn't entirely unsual to see the older Whammy kids being together, but none of them had seen it on _that _side of the fence. Mello, for one, was getting annoyed. He liked his gamer, more than he liked anyone, but he didn't want to be thought of in _that _way. Plus, he'd been getting strange looks from Roger recently. The caretaker strongly disapproved of any relationships between his friend's precious little experiments. Rumors of the things numbers Two and Three had been doing made him shift nevously and adjust his tie, wondering exactly what he was going to tell Quillish when he came back to see how his top four were doing.

They finished eating. Mello gulping down both slices, and Matt playing absentmindedly on his gameboy. He had the latest gaming systems there was, but sometimes it was also nice to settle down with an old-fashioned gameboy for a while.

"I've got that English report to finish, and you do too right? Obviously you haven't touched it yet. Let's get back and work on it", the blond decided after both plates were swept clean. The gamer nodded and stood to follow Mello back, eyes still glued on the gameboy. They took the long way, walking outside through the snow. The hallways would be crowded and loud at this time. As they passed the windows of the various residential rooms of each of the children, they heard voices in one of them. Near's room

"…come on, just a little work. Why not?..."

"Hey Mels, you hear that?" Matt asked. It was strange, Near's room was always silent. He never had any visitors. He was always alone in there.

"Wonder who it is", Mello peered through the window of the room. It was covered with snow white curtains, but there were a few spaces between the shades which he could see through.

Inside, the small white-head was leaning back in one corner of the room. Around him were a few of the older students.

"Even if you get caught, it's not like Roger's gonna punish his little angel is he? Come on.." one of the older kids drawled, pushing papers into Near's pale face.

"I do not belive you would be showing your talents if-"

"Shut up and do it", another kid cut him of, "come on, we know you can get it all done in the next two hours. We're not moving unless you do it you know."

"I…can not. We are not allowed to hand in other's work as our own. It is plagiarism", he backed father into the corner.

"If you're so scared of us why don't you just do what we say? It'll be easier for both of us", the third one said. The first one turned to get Near's small laptop and shoved it at him. The smaller boy fumbled to catch it before it shattered on the floor, and held it to his chest without opening it.

"Come on, turn it on and start typing. We're not going anywhere. We'll tell you our topics and everything", the second one purred at him.

"I am not allowed. You will get punished for this. I won't write the report for you", Near clutched the laptop closer and gave the other three a glare that had the fear factor of a mouse.

"How're we gonna make him write it?" the first boy turned to the second, "this was your idea remember?"

"I'm sure we'll find a way", the second boy kicked Near in the knee and he collapsed in the corner holding the injured knee in one hand and the laptop in the other.

"Woah, they weren't kidding when they said he had delicate health problems", the other one commented, "how far can we go with this? If he breaks a bone or two I guess we can just make him say he fell out of the window or something."

Near's eyes widened a little and he tried to push his way out of the circle the three older kids formed. One of them easily caught him and dragged him back. On the way, his laptop fell and he heard a small crash as it hit the floor.

"Ah well, he can type them out on mine", the third boy suggested, "I have it here with me." Near never took his eyes of the broken laptop. Roger only gave one student laptop to each child at Whammy's. Sometimes they did break it, but Near had never once broken anything that he'd been given. He didn't break or ruin furniture like the other children, his room was a perfect white. He never never broke any of the toys or puzzles he was allowed to buy with the extra money he was given. He still had every single toy he had purchased since he'd come to the House. Laptops were the most expensive things the students were given. Students were expected to take care of it. Near's perfect record would be broken, it was one of the only things that could make his heart shatter.

"Go away", he instructed them, "go away and do your report by yourselves."

"That's some nerve for a weak nerd like you", one of the other boys was looking through his toy closet, "hey guys just look at all this shit, we don't need to harm him at all". He took out a robot and threw it to one of his partners. The other boy looked at it, "geez this is an old model. This kids needs some motivation to buy newer stuff doesn't he? What kind of teenager plays with robots anyway?" He threw of the robot at the floor harshly and the little glass pieces that held the insides together broke apart.

"Why don't you get started on that report now? You see, it's due tomorrow and we can't finish. We're already at the bottom, so you have to be a good boy and help your friends stay at Whammy's house. If we fail any more classes we'll have to leave. This place is too loaded for us to want to accept any other cheap orphanage", he rummaged through the closet and picked out every one thousand piece puzzle box he could find.

"I will not. Do it by yourselves. If not I will have to tell Roger and you will leave for sure", Near watched helplessly. These were children who played outside, children who took the physical education classes instead of asking to be excused from them like Near had done. Roger had understood, knowing of the boy's delicate condition. He could not risk angering them too much. He could only hope that the one who was behind him would also get distracted by destroying his toys so that he could make an escape and run to Roger's office. He didn't want to ruin his reputation by telling on them, but he could always stay away from his room until the boys had to go to their class the next day. Once they were kicked out of the House, he wouldn't have to worry about getting bullied anymore. But his resolve was crumbling with every one of his precious toys they crushed.

"Really? Cause I'm willing to bet you'll get to helping us eventually. The more you delay, the less time you'll have to write those reports. We'll stay here all night if we have to", the older boy started opening all the packages and spilling them into one big pile. Over eight one-thousand-piece puzzles. That was over eight thousand pieces. It would take forever to put them back in order. Even worse was the fact that he had started to scatter them around the room, throwing them up into the air.

"Hey look, it's snowing inside too." He laughed as the puzzle pieces floated back down. Some had been ripped in his hands. Near winced with every piece that landed meters away from the pile. Now he would have to look for them too…he didn't want to waste all his saved money buying new puzzles. He was saving it for other things in the future, like books. Maybe in a few years, he would be able to buy a new laptop. But that would waste all of the saved money. While he stood there watching he wondered who's laptop he could borrow until he was able to buy a new one. No one came to mind, he never made any friends. No one would go out of their way to lend him their laptop. Asking Roger was out of the question, he had to protect his flawless record no matter what. Maybe he could write out all his repors by hand…his writing was rather beautiful and he was told that often. It would make the work unprofessional, but he didn't have many choices.

"Ready now?" The one stading behind him asked.

"No. I told you already that I would not write it for you. Roger would disapprove of all of us. You three for plaigarising, and me for helping you do so", he snapped back to reality, writing their reports for them was out of the question. His academic record would be destroyed as well. Near decided he'd rather have all his things destroyed and bones broken before he put a flaw in his chances of becoming the next L. It was a hard decision to make.

"Trust me number One, you'll have all three of our reports written out by tommorow's due date. That's a fact", he put a cold hand on the shorter boy's shoulder and Near shuddered at the touch. He hated it when people touched him. Even if it was a handshake or a poke to get his attention. He just hated it.

"No", he tried again, "just leave me alone and no one will know of this."

"So you're going to tell someone about this are you? So that everyone will know how weak and pathetic their Number One is. We're helping you toughen up Near, you should thank us", the hand squeezed his shoulder.

Outside, Mello and Matt had just arrived to watch.

"What are you gonna do Mels?" The gamer asked, gameboy forgotten momentarily.

"Psh, why should I help the arrogant little shit. It might ruin his record and that'll help me won't it?" Mello told him, tight-lipped. Matt frowned at him, "Mello I'm not asking you to go in there like superman and use a laser beam to kill the bad guys, though that would be awesomely cool, but you have to help him. He's working with us now remember?"

Mello stood still for a moment, thinking. Finally he turned away from the window and made his way back towards the House.

"Mello stop this, come on, he's with us now. We have to do something. If you don't wanna help him then I will", Matt attempted to go back to the window but a hand on his sleeve stopped him.

"Come with me and don't make a fool out of yourself", the blond growled. Matt resisted at first, but then he saw the look in his friend's eyes and smiled.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Let go", Near said to the one who was holding his shoulder. Almost all of his toys were in pieces on the floor and his three attackers were starting to get worried on why he hadn't given in to them yet.

"Listen", he was turned roughly to face the boy who had his shoulder in his grasp, "we _need _this to be done, or we're going to get kicked out of here. You have to help us. We're not doing this just cause we want to. If we don't pass this class, we're going to get sent to a normal orphanage, and we'll just just _normal _again. I don't want that! I don't want to be normal like some other stupid kid!"

Near was thrown to the floor where his broken toys lay. He felt a sharp pain in his hands and realized they had been cut up by the broken glass on the floor. Shock ran through him, it was _painful. _Painful to just see his skin being broken by little shards of glass here and there. The boys came to his room other times too, in the past. Maybe once a month, asking him to do their homework. But they'd never done this before. They'd hit him once or twice and then given up. He fumbled to get up on his feet and the regretted it as the glass touched his bare feet. The other boys had been wearing shoes, not bothering to take them off when they entered Near's room.

"Hey, I think he's bleeding", the first one said nervously. The one next to him came over to Near and lifted the smaller boy by the arms like a child, "he's not seriously hurt. He's still well enough to write and that's all we need. He can crawl over to the infirmary later of he needs to. They've got first-class threatment here, he'll be fine", he carried him over to the cleaner floor where the glass pieces had not fallen.

"I will not write it for you. Please go and work on it yourselves, if you leave now, you may still be able to finish it", he said breathlessly.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, "Hey Near, you in? We need to dicuss the investigation again."

The loud voice was Mello's. Near thought he'd never heard a sweeter sound. His three tormentors looked at each other in shock.

"He never has visitors!" One of them whispered. The other one paled, "and that's Mello of all people. There's no mistaking that voice. We need to get out of here. We'll come back later tonight to fetch him."

They dropped Near and fumbled to open the window. As soon as it was unlatched, they all pushed themselves out. It was a first floor window, so they were able to escape easily.

"Come in, the door is open", Near called out. His back hurt from how the boy had dropped him. At least it was in a glass-cleared area.

The blond made his way in and looked around in shock, "what the hell happened?"

Near knew he was trying to conceal it, Mello obviously had known what was going on, that much was obvious. He was just giving him an oppourtunity to save his own pride. Near was almost grateful.

"I was mixing up my puzzles to make it harder to solve, and the box I had put my toys in fell down and crashed. I think I am in need of medical aid" he stood up slowly and walked over to the drawer in which he kept a first aid box.

"That's some unlucky shit you went through. This place is a mess. Hey Mello come help me attempt to clean. The maid won't be back until tomorrow", Matt leaned down and began to pick up the brokwn toy pieces, avoiding the glass, "you can probably ask her to keep it a secret you know. To hide your carelessness."

Wonderful, Matt had probably been watching too. He had probably gotten Mello to help, Near thought sarcastically. He slowly wrapped gauze around his bleeding feet.

"Me? Clean? No way in hell. You do it", Mello settled in Near's chair and watched the redhead pick up the mess and put the broken toys back in the box. He separated the puzzle pieces and put them in a pile in one corner so Near could 'solve' them like he'd 'wished' to do.

"That is unessecary. I can take care of it once I am done tending to my feet", Near told him. Mello growled at him, "just accept the fucking help would you?"

The white-head didn't say any more.

"Well, we were planning to use your room as headquarters but seeing we can't do that anymore, you're gonna have to drag your butt to our room during our meetings. One of which is taking place right now. We're going to find out exactly where Christien's death was reported", Mello snapped another piece of his chocolate. Near nodded and continued wrapping his other foot.

He turned to see Matt picking up his laptop gingerly from the mess. It didn't look broken on the outside, but its hardrive was obviously ruined. The gamer whistled, "woah, this is bad…"

For a second Near allowed himself to wonder. If he asked Matt, would Matt…would he allow him to borrow his own laptop once in a while?

"…but I could probably fix it up."

Near couldn't believe his ears. Matt could _fix _it? Really?

"Yeah, show em what you're made of Matty. No broken computer is gonna stay that way for two long after meeting with you!" Mello grinned at his gamer and the redhead tucked the laptop under his arm.

"Hey Near, you need to come with us. We'll leave the maid to take care of your room, it's too dangerous to stay in here now", Matt went over to the door. Near finished wrapping his feet and experimentally put on down and added a little pressure. That was good, he could walk just fine, "alright."

He spent the rest of the day with the Two and Three. Sometimed he decided he was imposing on them and would attempt to take his leave, dreading the fate that awaited him as soon as he was out of Mello's sight, but the two would always find a reason to make him stay. The meeting dragged on all evening once they had the information from the CIA criminal databases. The three were so tired that they fell asleep right on the floor of Matt and Mello's room.

The next morning, Whammy's House had sent three children away.

**Thanks for reading so far guys! This story is really coming along now, remember to review!**


	23. Angel

Sorry i haven't been updating awhile. This is a new arc that leads directly into the investigation after a few chapters, and the beginning sums up the last arc. And i had writers block for a while, along with the fact that i didn't get many reviews so i wasn't that encouraged...

but i really like writing, so i'm never going to abandon a story. This one interests me too much to abandon.

**Chapter 23**

After I finished moving all my things into the room L had given me, I walked back into the main investigation room where the entire task force was. I regretted coming in, the atmosphere was tense and looked like they were in the middle of an argument.

"What's happening?" I asked. Everyone looked over at me, but chief Yagami was the first to respond, "the Japanese police has withdrawn all support from the Kira investigation. If we want to stay, we need to quit our jobs."

I nodded, I knew this part. The part where Aizawa would leave. Half of me actually felt sorry for the man, all he wanted to do was support his family, and he couldn't do that without a job. The other half was indifferent, now that I'd gotten chief Yagami to accept me and Matsuda already regarded me as an idol, he was the only one who disapproved of me being here. Mogi was indifferent to me, he never talked to me, but at least he saw me as another investigator. An idea came into my head, L might hate me for it but…

"Well, L probably has a finance plan set for all of you in case you lost your jobs so I recommend you not to worry about it. If you want to pursue Kira, there are all the means to stay. Isn't that right L?" I walked over to sit down on the couch opposite from Matsuda. I could feel L burning a hole into the back of my head with his glare.

"…Yes, that is correct. I was going to mention it at a different time, but I suppose now is as good as ever", I heard the crunch of a sugar cube.

"That's great Aizawa-san! Now you can stay without worrying about your family!" Matsuda exclaimed. Aizawa smiled at him, "yes I can. I would have done so anyways but it's good to know my family will be alright. The economy is in a bad state recently and so I was beginning to get worried."

I smiled, it had gone well this time. Of course, I would have to make sure that things didn't happen as badly as they were supposed to, Aizawa would not be there with the police to catch Higuchi. The rest of the morning went by very dully. However soon enough, Misa stormed in, having found the room her Light was in.

"Light!" She fell on him and nuzzled her head into his chest affectionately. Light smiled uncertainly, "well, nice to see you again Misa…"

"Misa hasn't seen Light in SOO long!", She held on to his arm. Then she spotted L, who was rather close to her, being chained to the person she was hugging. She backed away, knowing him only as the person who had taken her Light away.

"Misa Amane, I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind", he asked. She looked uncertainly at Light, who nodded. "Misa, this is Ryuzaki. He's part of the Kira investigation team. You can answer his questions, he's only trying to catch Kira."

"Oh alright", the model sighed and looked back at the detective. L paced around the room, "the first question, when did you meet Light?"

"I saw him at Aoyama, and it was love at first sight. I just knew it! But he was with Her", she pointed at me", so I got worried, but later I discovered that they weren't dating so Misa got her paws on him!"

Aizawa slapped his forehead.

"Why did you think it was love at first sight?" The interrogation continued.

"Because it was just so obvious! I mean, Light and Misa were just meant to be together! It's just like that! And then I met him in person and it was soo romantic! It's everything Misa ever wanted. Oh, want to hear about our first date?" She suggested enthusiastically.

"Misa…" Light looked like he wanted to die right there.

Suddenly it seemed Aizawa couldn't take it anymore, "can we stop talking about love and romance? This is the Kira investigation damn it! And anyone with ears can tell she's the second Kira!"

Misa looked hurt, "but Misa loves Kira! Not as much as Misa loves Light, but Kira is her hero!"

L looked interested, "and why is that?"

"Because Kira killed the people who killed Misa's parents", she answered immediately. Aizawa banged his head against his desk. I agreed with him. The way it sounded was just too obvious. An amateur could tell she had been the second Kira.

"Anyway, why is Light chained to the pervert?" She asked.

L cocked his head, "I'm a pervert?"

Everyone ignored him. Light looked incredibly uncomfortable, "well, I'm a Kira suspect, so I can't be away from Ryuzaki here…" he held up the chain. L looked over, "I never said you couldn't go on dates Light. However, it will have to be within the hotel, and I will have to be there."

"Ewww, so you'll be our stalker!" Misa gasped.

"Yes I believe it could be put that way. I'll be there for supervision. You two may do whatever you wish. The rest of the task force will be watching from this room. Camera feeds 5 to 7 are located on your floor", L grabbed a sugar cube and popped it in his mouth. Misa gave him a glare, "fine, Misa will do whatever it takes to be with her Light. Light sweetie what about this Saturday? It's only two days away and Misa can stand that much time."

Light nodded briefly after glancing at his father. Chief Yagami looked thoroughly confused. He looked back and forth between me and Light a few times but said nothing. I tried not to look at him, I was sure I would probably confuse him more.

A while later, Light and L were both arguing frantically. Well, Light was arguing frantically. L was just looking at him and saying no. Their topic? Kira suspect number one wanted to take his evening shower.

"…no."

"L, I'm asking to take a shower. It's a basic human necessity, it's hygiene for god's sake! I can't believe your not even letting me keep clean!" Light yelled. L looked over casually.

"Light, I never said you couldn't take a shower. However, right now we're in the middle of work. You can take your shower when I take mine, just wait another five hours."

Red began to creep into his face, "you can't expect me to shower with you, it's invasion of privacy! It can be classified under sexual assault in the human rights' charter!"

"The very first human rights' charter specified such between a male and a female. Nothing about a male and another male, and I presume you are of the masculine sex, unless there is something you wish to tell me. Besides, men in the time of the ancient roman bathed together all the time to save water. I'll wash your back for you if you wish. And I can give a mean massage too", the detective was spooning cake into his mouth.

"You don't need to save water. You're filthy rich. And I can wash my own back thank you very much."

"Light can wash his own back? That must be some impressive contortion, I must be there to witness it."

"You're avoiding the subject."

"Am I? Really Light, am I?"

"According to modern psychology, the best way to change a subject is to divert with a statement that provokes different emotions in the opposite person. So yes, you are changing the subject."

"Does that mean the image of me watching you contort yourself to wash your own back provokes different emotions in you?"

"NO! You're misunderstanding me!"

"Whoever taught me psychology is rather skilled, wouldn't you say Light?"

"What? Why?"

"Because I've changed the subject so successfully that I'm forgetting what the subject originally was…"

"Me taking a shower by myself!"

"Ah yes...no."

Light fumed, "fine then. I refuse to even take a shower. And that means you cannot take a shower either. So we'll both stink like hell until you come to your senses and let me take a single damn shower by myself."

L looked over thoughtfully, "that would be rather convenient, more time to work…"

"Oh for the love of…"

The others in the room were hiding the red amusement in their faces behind their work. Chief Yagami looked like he would rather be anywhere else but in the room. I was teaching Matsuda how to transfer macros onto the newest version of Microsoft access. He was learning slowly, so I looked over at Light's face every once in a while to gauge the redness. It was hilarious.

At that point, Watari entered the room, "L, I was listening to your conversation from the surveillance, and I can make a suggestion, why don't I accompany Light and supervise his shower. It may assure him that I have done much surveillance in my life and I will not see anything new. I also have excellent bathing skills, I am very fond of children and once I worked with children who needed…special attention…and had to bathe them myself."

L actually seemed to be considering it, he obviously trusted Watari to handle his suspect. The aforementioned Kira suspect almost went pale. He had just gone from creepy detective watching him naked to potentially perverted old man watching him naked. However he seemed to be slightly resigned to it all.

"That may do, but only for thirty minutes maximum. Light, go with Watari."

The old man came over with a key and unlocked the handcuffs, leading Light away out the door. He kept a firm grip on his wrist, as if he would try to run away. L turned back to his computer screen.

I spent the next five minutes continuing my lesson with Matsuda before the chief came over with a stack of papers. He set them on the desk and sat down on the sofa nearby.

"These are the new death records, do you mind transferring them onto our online database? It shouldn't take too long", he tightened his tie a little. I nodded and handed the stack to Matsuda, "see if you can use what I just taught to write a macro that will automatically update any information you enter onto the access database to the one we have online." He paled, a little overwhelmed, but nodded and took the stack. I sighed and helped myself to a jar of mini-cookies lying nearby. I turned when I noticed the chief watching me.

"I was under the impression that my son was dating you?" He asked slowly, trying to remain subtle. That's what he had been confused about. I tried to look sheepish. It would seem strange if I just pretended not to like Light after how we had been.

"Well, we were never officially dating, and Misa is already his girlfriend now…" I let the idea trail away.

He raised his eyebrows and the sighed, "that Misa is a nice girl but she isn't right for him. I always thought he would only be happy with a smart girl like you. It's about time he settles down anyway but-"

"Matters like that shouldn't be spoken of during work, chief Yagami, May. I suggest you continue your work. Has Matsuda understood your lesson completely? " L interrupted. I was surprised, he would have usually just kept quiet and observed.

"Yes, he's got it. I've given him the new deaths for this week to add in", I replied hesitantly.

"Good. He can take those home to work on. The investigation will finish for the day, it's almost six now, and there isn't any new leads today. I'll see you all tomorrow. May, Watari will bring you your university work once he is finished with Light. You must catch up with all of it, and Light will too. I've asked your professors to omit any unnecessary projects so everything you do will count towards your class mark. Since I have also not kept up with my work for the medical courses I am enrolled in I will accompany you during this study time. We are all expected back in class in exactly three days", he sounded stiff. Almost…frustrated. I supposed this was about the time where he was getting discouraged in the investigation.

"I suppose we'll take our leave then, Ryuzaki", Aizawa stated. The officers all picked up their bags to retire for the day. After they left, L went back into his crouch on the chair. His messy hair hid his eyes and his thumb was being assaulted by his teeth again. I put my laptop down and walked over to his screen where a long email glared back at me.

"What has you in a grouch?" I asked. He looked back at me, "nothing has me in a 'grouch' as you call it. I am merely solving a different case at the moment." I leaned in and put my hand on the desk, "can I help?"

"A group. They've developed a new drug known as Angel. It's side effects are severe from the very first intake, it puts the victim in a permanent dream-like state. It's commonly being used as a substitute for suicide now, so far it's only commonly known and used in the Kabukicho region of Tokyo so far. The case was requested by the local Japanese police, this if the briefing", he gestured toward the long email, "the problem with this is that the drug is an inhalant, one powerful enough to affect anyone within the closed space it is used it. It's been ruled as a severe environmental threat because it spreads so easily in the air. I have been asked to find and arrest the people making this drug to stop it's production", he finished. I thought about it carefully.

"They are only selling it to buyers?" I asked, it seemed unreasonable for L to be asked to solve the case if the victims all asked for it.

"No, actually. I'm glad you've picked onto that. They are planning something with it. In my opinion, they are planning to 'clean' the place up for the 2016 Olympics", he said carefully.

"Clean? Why?"

"The Kabukicho region is a red-light district. There are unimaginable amount of crime happening there. I've heard that the authorities want to "clean" it up", he typed in the region on Google and a million results came up immediately.

"Oh. That explains it. So by 'cleaning up'…."

"Yes, the believe that the region is going to be contaminated with Angel. I'm thinking of sending Watari there tonight to look for leads, the drug has to be spread from the middle of the area so that the wind will carry it away before it affects anyone living outside the region. The only mystery for me to solve is when they plan to do this", he brought up a map, "when they let the drug spread it will probably be from somewhere around the Shinjuku Koma Stadium, if we calculate the major winds of the area, this is the only way it won't reach too far."

I thought about it, "so do you have any leads on when they might be doing this?"

"No, not yet. Though I will get new information as soon as it is acquired, so for now I will send Watari to investigate and wait for any new leads", he leaped out of the chair and walked over to a backpack lying on one of the couches. He picked at the zipper with two fingers and draw a stack of papers from inside.

"Right now I will have to finish these assignments, along with my thesis paper", he brought the papers back to the main table just as Watari and Light came in.

"Oh good you're back. Watari, the handcuffs", L responded. Light looked absolutely scarred. I guessed that Watari had tried to 'help' him. The old man just walked over with the handcuffs and locked their hands again.

"Please read the briefing email that I've been sent and investigate the Kabukicho region tonight. Preferable somewhere around the Koma stadium", the detective absentmindedly told him. Watari nodded went over to the computer the email had been on and began reading.

"Light, May, your work is right here", he lifted the package Watari had brought with him and handed it over to us. I took it and leafed through, separating Light's work from mine. Once I had two piles, I took mine and let Light take his.

Soon enough, Watari left the room in a black coat that covered most of his face. We were left in silence, working. My first assignment was fairly easy. A team problem which I had to write an essay about and solve. I was good at coming up with creative solutions. Light was working on a made-up case. L was writing his medical thesis on genetics. I supposed he had already done all his preliminary research. The only thing breaking the silence was my typing and Light's occasional pen tapping.

Suddenly we heard a slight beep. I jumped a little at the disturbance. L walked over to his computer, where the beep had come from. Light's chained hand was jerked away form the keyboard as he was dragged along.

"It looks like we have some new information May", he stated. I went over to see, "What is it?"

"What information?" Light asked curiously. "A case Ryuzaki's working on along with the Kira case", I explained. He nodded slightly and we turned back to look at the screen.

"An audio tape…interesting. The police say they know it's from the drug sellers because it came addressed "Angel" and there was a small packet of the substance sent with the tape. I'll play it now", he downloaded the file where the tape had been recorded and played it.

'_Tonight I can write the saddest lines. The night wind revolves in the sky and sings. Tonight I can write the saddest lines. I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too. Tonight I can write the saddest lines. To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her…"_

It replayed exactly three times. Then it stopped abruptly.

"Could it be that they are referring to Angel by saying 'her'?" L inquired. Light looked at us, confused, "Angel?"

We ignored him for the moment.

"It sounds familiar", I commented.

"They are English lines from the poem 'Tonight I can Write' by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda", Light offered. We both turned to look at him now.

"A poem?" L asked. "Yes, it's not the entire thing though. Only a few passages are mentioned here." He searched the poem and found the entire thing.

"Why Pablo Neruda? Is there something symbolic about this? One of the lines says 'to think I do not have her'. Does that mean they've lost the Angel?", L asked himself.

"Can someone please tell me who this angel is?" Light asked again. He seemed thoroughly confused. We ignored him again.

"The passages chosen…they all have the main chorus line, 'tonight I can write the saddest lines'", I observed. L suddenly stiffened.

"What's wrong Ryuzaki?" Light asked.

"I have a strange feeling about this…May, may I use your laptop?" He turned to ask. I nodded and brought it over. He quickly opened his email and downloaded the file onto my file system. Then he brought it up on Garageband. We watched as he played it over, enlarging the audio frequency finder this time. Surprisingly, the frequency only changed at a certain time.

Every time the word 'tonight' was mentioned, the frequency dropped considerably.

L paled a little more, but remained still. I wondered at his open reaction, then I remembered that Watari had gone there. Tonight.

"Could it be that…" I left the thought trailing.

"69 percent", L said firmly. He leapt off the chair and rummaged in a drawer, pulling out a cell phone. He started dialing on it with one finger. Then he held it to his ear.

It rang for and entire five minutes. But no one picked up.

"Watari is not answering his phone…" He suddenly seemed extremely calm, "I will set this to call him every five minutes."

"Exactly what is going on? Why is Watari not answering his phone?" Light asked again. He didn't get an answer. L was staring into space with a extremely calm look and I was watching him. The detective was starting to scare me.

"Ryuzaki, May, at least attempt to answer! I'm lost here! I could help if-"

"seventy-five percent."

L opened another drawer and took out a white bag. He stuffed the phone inside it and slung it over his shoulder, "May, I want you two to stay here and wait for word from Watari. Call me if the police send any other information. Light, I'm sorry about this but you have to come with me, I can't risk removing the handcuffs at this time even though they will be a nuisance. Not to mention that only Watari knows where the keys are", he started toward the door.

I stepped in front of him, "you're going to find Watari?"

"I belive that should be evident", he told me.

"Kind of dangerous isn't it?"

"I do have a gun with me, and I know how to use it."

Light paled, "a gun? Ryuzaki where are we going? Where is Watari? I am completely-"

"Let me come too", I told him.

"No. There is no reason for that."

"Two young men chained together, it's suspicious. If you went to the police, they'll think you're an escapee. I can talk for you. I can always pretend to be a foreigner who came for some fun", I protested, "and besides, if anything happens to you, Light won't be able to help since he's chained to you."

"All I'm going to do it find Watari and then report the location of the drug sellers. I should be done in an hour", he insisted, "the quicker I leave, the sooner I can get back."

There was silence as we paused from arguing.

"Both of you! Tell me what is going on NOW!"

We turned to look at Light, surprised. I'd never heard him yell like that before.

"Ryuzaki, if you're going to compromise my safety, I might as well hear what is happening. May, you're probably right, because I'm not talking to anyone while chained to him unless I want to be known as the guy with the criminal fetish", he took a deep breath.

"We are pursuing a group that sells a powerful inhalant drug. They will expose the drug into the air tonight in Kabukicho to cause mass-murder. Watari is there and he won't answer his phone. That's all there is to know", L said, gritting his teeth ever so slightly.

"Fine then. We're going. May, please stay here. We need someone to inform the authorities if anything happens to us", he gave me a pleading look that was obviously crafted to make anyone melt. I decided to play along for the time being, "fine. I'll stay. But how will I keep in contact?"

L went back to the laptop and opened a program that displayed a video with a black screen. "What is-" I started.

"This video feed connects to the lense I have Watari wear sometimes when he is out investigating. At the moment it's in it's case. I'll put it on before I leave, along with an earpiece. You'll hear everything I say and vice versa", he turned to Light, "do you know how we can get to Kabukicho? Watari probably has the car keys."

"We can take the bus first, and then the Yamanote line to the Shinjuku station and walk from there. It's a pretty small area. When we're certain of the location of the gang there is a police station north of there we can get to easily", he explained, "there aren't many places to look, I suppose you've already figured out that the Koma stadium is somewhat in the center? We can start searching there. It won't be too hard to find him."

L was both listening and inserting a contact lense which he had taken from a container in the drawer, "it's good that we have directions then. May, I'll leave everything here to you. Don't expose my cover", he looked at me pointedly.

"You underestimate me L, since I have to stay here you can limit yourself to worrying about just getting the video feeds I need for proof. Everything else, including informing the police, isn't your problem. I know the formula for your voice synthesizer", I didn't glance at him, instead preparing a recording sequence in case I needed to record some of their experiences to use as proof.

He kept his eyes on me for a moment, "I thought about it before, but I dismissed it at the time. I'll say it now. May, you could make a dangerous enemy."

I turned to look at him, temporarily pausing my work, "I should probably say I'm glad you realize L. Now hurry up and leave. We've got nine hours until 'tonight' ends and they won't wait for the last moment."

They were gone almost before I finished. My fingers glided over the keyboard as another presence in the room made itself known.

**Review and tell me how it's going! Btw i really NEED a new summary. My current one sounds kind of boring. Help me out?**


	24. Kidnapped?

**Only a short delay this time but sorry anyway. oh and thank you guys for the reviews! they were all extremely well written and therefore helpful to my imagination. In fact, the next chapter is completely written and will be coming up in a day or two. **

**Chapter 24**

"Having fun?" Ryuk chuckled when I turned to aknowledge him. I didn't stay like that for long. I turned back to my laptop and watched L and Light in the elevator. Light was trying to gather the chain into his pocket so no one could see it. It meant that they had to stand close together, but L obliged. It would attract too much attention otherwise. I gave the shinigami a pointed look that told him to speak, because I couldn't. The security cameras were still in the room. L had activated them a long time ago. I could erase the memory if I wanted but that would create suspicion.

"Oh, being recorded again?" Ryuk understood, "fine. Scratch your head if you want me to stay or if you have something for me to do. My deathnote's owner is asleep and I'm incredibly bored. She sleeps a lot you know, apparently it keeps her skin glowing or something. Humans…"

I reached up to smooth my hair, telling him to stay here.

"Oh good. I can always count on you for entertainment. If only you gave me as many apples as Light did…I read the email on L's screen while L's old man was reading. Another mess…and one that doesn't look good for you either…"

I stiffened just a little at that. What was he trying to say? On the screen, the duo had just made their way to the bustop that would lead them to the train station. I took note that they entered from the back door, unlike in Canada. They picked up a small slip from a machine at the door and waited in the bus.

"I know something that you may find interesting May, but before I tell you, I just want to make it clear that I'm not fully on your side. I'm in this for two reasons, the entertainment, and the fact that I don't want you ratting me to the old man. Are we ok with that?"

My small nod made it clear that I understood. He obviously had something to say, I didn't want to interrupt him early.

"My deathnote's owner, for some reason she wants to kill someone who she's just met. She was at a café for lunch, and she dropped her purse. A man at a table nearby picked it up for her and they had a small chat about the stock market and the weather and other boring stuff. In the end he told her his name, Lucas Axel. It seemed just fine and they she left after she was finished her meal. The strange thing was that as soon as she got back, she wrote his name in her deathnote. When it was down she yelled 'Die!". And then she laughed", Ryuk grinned, "frankly, it creeps me out to think of it. Human who poses the deathnote, they all seem to turn out like that. But I can't stop thinking about it. Because she seemed to like him, maybe even romantically. Human women would consider him good-looking. But she had great pleasure writing his name down. And you know what?" He paused to laugh loudly. I glared at him, mentally telling him to go on.

"His name, it was an alias. She didn't really get him", he laughed again.

I bit my lip. I couldn't talk, but I gave him glances that clearly asked him 'what was his name?'. But he didn't seem to notice. I pushed away the annoyance and focused on the screen. They were leaving the bus now. I watched them walk up to the front and deposit the amount of yen that was on the ticket into the slot. Then they got down and walked across to the station. They walked up to the small ticket desk and asked for two tickets for the yamanote line, in English. They were handed two slips of paper. With that they ran for a train that was about to leave and made it on at the last moment.

"Must be boring. Sitting here, I mean. Watching cameras. Wouldn't it be fun if you had to go out there too? In case they got in trouble and you had to save them?" He grinned. I suppressed the urge to groan. There was something he was hiding, I knew it. But I couldn't ask him. The cameras and wire taps continued throughtout the building, and I wasn't careless enough to leave the screen alone in case anything happened. That was sure to turn into a disaster.

On the screen, Light turned to look at L, or more exactly, his left eye with the lense, "the plan is to steal there supply of Angel and take it to the police. We'll have to pretend to be working for L so you'll have to speak with L's voice filter when we're done", he finished explaining to me. I nodded silently. They had no way of hearing me, but Light guessed that I knew how to do it. Once their stop arrived they got off and walked out of the station, coming to a sign that read Yasukuni dori. It seemed to be a street. I took note of the route they took, but the farther they walked, the harder it was hard to follow them. It was getting dark and all the neon signs were starting to look the same to me.

"Hey, I'm bored. By the way, how's your last name pronounced? Looks interesting…" Ryuk just didn't shut up. I bit my lip in frustration. He didn't need to know.

"Oh right you're supposed to be all silent on me right now. Well, I'm just going to wait for some action. Hopefully I don't get back too late. That woman might be a human, but she's scary when she's angry. She's so prissy about everything. Geez I'm away for two minutes straight and she goes all 'where were you Ryuk?' 'what were you doing Ryuk?' so botherful. At least she gives me apples."

I didn't see the point in Ryuk's rambling. Though he always was chatty. On the other hand, the place L and Light were in looked more like a red-light district now. The neon signs advertised things that were more open now in the things they sold. L looked around quite often so I noticed all the girls whistling to them from either inside the shops or in the allies. It was hilarious how L turned his eyes away as soon as they implied something. I had the urge to giggle. Light stopped walking when they reached a large stadium.

"This is the Koma stadium. Our best bet is finding a place inside that can open from the top. Maybe a upper-level storage closet…" While he was talking, L looked around and finally settled his gaze on a young couple making out in an ally next to the stadium. He kept watching them for a while, barely blinking. I wondered why, he seemed either shy or uninterested judging from how he had treated the girls on the way. But he kept watching them. Light turned around from where he had gone ahead and motioned back, noticing the chain had stopped. L gave the couple one last glace before he followed him. The couple stopped for a second, and the woman gave him a strange smile before he turned away. "Light, keep your voice lower please", he asked before going after him.

They walked into the stadium and looked around. It was a huge place, with posters and advertisements of the shows that were going on posted everywhere. The sheer amount of people looked almost suffocating, and I had to stuggle to hear anything that Light said. Undertstanding this, he pulled on the chain and lead the way down a long hall to three doors, resrooms. Instead of going to the men's restroom, he opened the door to the dis-abled stall. I supposed it was because the other restrooms would be too crowded.

Light leaned against the door, "well, as I was trying to say, I don't know the place that well since I've only ever been here once, I'm out of ideas."

"I've been thinking about something", L turned the tap on and ran his finger through the water, "specifically about the person who created this drug. I believe that if we knew that, we could find it. But we don't have time to do that", he turned the tap off and watched the water flow down his finger, "so we need to find a place here that has access to the roof."

"I understand that, but where? This is a stadium…

"Yes, and this particular stadium happens to have something they only release in the summer, a open roof", he wiped his finger on his jeans and looked at Light, "let's go to the director's office. Once we're there we can get him to cooperate by saying we work for L. May can pose as L and get to his computer, I will make access."

"Well that is a good-"

Light's words were cut off as the door behind him was banged open. He stumbled forward as it was pushed open behind him, but before he could fall an arm snaked around his waist and held him back to a sturdy chest. The face that emerged from behind the door seemed familiar for some reason…typically Japanese with a square chin and short hair.

"Hey I found them. Come on in", the man gestured behind him, still holding a stuggling Light to him like a rag-doll. A woman emerged from the door way and I realized where I'd seen them before. They were the couple that had been making out outside. The one's L had been watching. I hadn't recognized the man at first because he had been facing away.

"So you're the guy huh? The one that's apparently one of L's cronies? My boss is looking forward to seeing him. Why don't we have a little talking session? Kimiko, grab him", he had a thoughtfull look in his eyes, and then suddenly turned and banged Light's head into the wall. He fell unconscious into the larger man's arms.

The woman pulled out a gun and gestured for L to come to her. I could almost sense the detective hesitating, seeing as he had a gun in his pocket, but he seemed to give up and go to her. He probably saw it as a way to find out where they hid the drug, and to make sure Light wasn't hurt.

"Come closer pretty boy, we have to cover those big eyes of yours first", she pulled a long white strip out of her pocket and motioned for him. She was going to blindfold him, to make sure he didn't see where they were going.

I stood up quickly, feeling the blood rushing to my head. This couldn't be happening. They were being…kidnapped? Behind me, Ryuk laughed. Enough was enough, I shut down all the wiretaps and voice recordings in the room, and placed a hand over my mouth as if in shock, to make sure the cameras wouldn't see my mouth moving.

"Ryuk what's happening? Do you know anything about this?"

"Nope, no clue. I would be pissed that my little toy might be killed, but I have you now, so I'm not worried", he grinned, "though I will miss those apples…"

I swore under my breath and looked back at the screen. L's hand came up to his face right in front of the lense, as if he was going to rub his eyes. In a split second I saw him slip his fingers into his eye and take the lense out, attaching it's curved surface to the tip of his finger. The screenshots moved downward until they rested near his leg where he had dropped his hand. Only when he moved closer to the woman did she realize he was hadcuffed to Light.

"Ohh…what do you two have going on? Is this bondage gone wrong or something else? Was the little pretty-face a criminal L asked you to bring back? Is that it? Unlock the chains now", her voice changed from teasing to demanding as she stopped with the blindfold to allow L to unlock the chains.

"I do not have it", was the detective's simple response. He did not sound scared or worried. The woman raised an eyebrow but shrugged and reached to secure the blindfold around his eyes.

"That's it. He's giving me permission to come there. By showing me where they are going. I just hope the lense doesn't drop off his finger…" I told Ryuk, while folding the laptop up and putting it under my arm. It was cold out so I grabbed Light's coat from the rack before going out, it was long and could be useful. Ryuk floated behind me, grin still plastered on his face.

"Why do you want to go that badly? You know, you could just let them die, wouldn't it be easier for whatever you're trying to do?" the shinigami asked. I wanted to stragle him, but I kept a straight face.

_What I'm trying to do it save him, you idiot!_

"No that won't be nessecary. Light, Watari, and L are in danger, I have to go after them."

"They'll probably be dead by the time you get there. You should just give up on them. Who knows, maybe you could take up the name L yourself", Ryuk shrugged. I hated to admit it, but he had a point, I wouldn't get there before midnight no matter how you looked at it. I leaned back on the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor.

"Why are you so upset about a bunch of humans getting killed?" The shinigami asked.

"Because I need them alive", I figured having Ryuk think I had ulterior motives would benefit me in the long-run.

"Oh. That sucks…", he stopped grinning, "you can still try. Maybe if you run-"

"No, you're right. I'll only get there late and get killed by the spreading of the drug", I put my head in my hands.

_Think May. Think. What kind of transportation would get you there in less than a hour?_

Automatically, my mind reverted to think about the design cycle from my project management classes.

_Goal: fast transportation. Basic design plan: what the fastest way to get there, abandoning all logic? Lets see, rockets, airplanes, helicopter, wings-wait, wings!_

My head snapped up to look at Ryuk. Having touched the deathnote, I could touch him. And he could fly…

"Ryuk, can you fly to kabukicho if I pointed the direction? Could you get there in less than thirty minutes?"

"Hah, I could get there in ten. Wait, I can't do anything. Those humans have not touched the deathnote. Not a good idea to rely on me", he waved his hands in front of him. I smiled, "you don't need to do anything but fly. I can just ride on your back", I stood up and dusted myself off.

He looked a little skeptical at first, "how much to humans weigh anyway? If it's possible then I don't mind…"

"Then let's get out of here into plain air", I entered the elevator and soon we exited the building and were outside. I walked behind a couple of trees and motioned for Ryuk to come over. Once he turned around I climbed onto is back and held on the the spike between his wings, "go. Hurry."

"Yeah yeah don't rush. Ever thought about where you're going to land? Humans can still see you."

"We'll land on the outskirts of the station, there are tall buildings and construction areas there that can hide me. I know the way, I just need to ask for Yasukuni-dori and I've seen the way from there by watching L and Light", I yelped slightly as he left the ground suddenly. Soon I was in the air, holding one hand in front of Ryuk's face pointing the way while I traced the roads with my eyes from the ground. I was following the tracks of the train that they had taken, the Yamanote line.

The fact that I was flying didn't occur to me, even though it would have been wonderful on any normal day. I was never airsick, but Ryuk's erratic flying was giving me a slight headache. It was already starting to get fully dark. Maybe alreadly ten o'clock. I told him to fly relatively low, but he still made it there within ten minutes like he had promised.

We landed rather clumsily in the middle of the construction site I had seen earlier. As soon as we got within ten feet of the ground Ryuk started wavering, as to land slowly, but the quick changes of orientation disturbed me and I fell off and crashed down on the hard concrete, completely disorientated.

**Remember to review!**


	25. Suspicious Again

**In answer to a review, Mayra's name is pronounced Mi-rah (Mee-rah). Thats why it was special that April called her that, the pronunciation of 'may' was never in her name. I think it's an indonesian name in origin (but she's not indonesian). And Saiai Angel Alchemist what did you mean about the 'river in egypt'? i dont get it...**

**the next chapter is already written! It will be coming up in a day or two.**

**Chapter 25**

It took a few second of clutching my head for my cochlea to understand how I was oriented, and I was able to stand properly. I immediately started for the street, a few minutes away. Walking towards the line of stores L and Light had passed.

"Humans are rather heavy, May. Don't try that again. But it was smart, you have lots of time now", Ryuk chuckled as he followed me. I'd finally reached Yasukuni-dori and was traveling down it to the intersection they had been at.

"I have to get to the stadium in the next fifteen minutes so I have enough time to figure out where L and Light are and then the drug storage. L said he was going to consult the director of the stadium about it, so I suppose I'l have to go there first."

"So you're going to find the drug first? Why not save the two since you want them alive so badly?"

"Light is unconscious, he'll just get in the way. L is chained to him. And I already know where they're being kept thanks to how he took out the lense and showed me the way they were taking them", I explained in a whisper. The streets were loud enough that no one heard me speaking, and if they saw my mouth moving…well it was the Information Age. I could say I had been speaking on the phone and had an earpiece on.

Eventually I got to the stadium and walked right in. The first thing I did was get to an information desk.

"Sumimasen?" I asked the lady at the desk in broken Japanese, "English?"

"Hai, I know", she replied in heavily accented English, "what I do for you?"

"Can you tell me where the director of this place is? I've been asked to see him for…" I bit my lip, I really didn't have an excuse. Why would a person want to see the director of a stadium?

"Oh, you here to discuss closing? It is bad…you can see him. You go down there and turn right. Then show badge to people at door and you go in", she handed me a badge that said 'visitor' on it, as far as I could tell in my faint Japanese reading.

"Thank you", I took the badge and turned to walk down the hall. Closing…she must mean the closing of the stadium. That I was working for the government or with the police. Not the smartest crayon in the box then…

When I got to the end past all the performance areas, there was no one there. I let myself into the hall and walked down reading the labels on each door until I came to the one that said 'manager'. I knocked on it.

The door was opened by a average heighted Japanese man who looked me over. He said something in Japanese.

"English?" I asked cheekily, cocking my head. I really needed to learn Japanese one day…

"I said what are you doing here? Visitors aren't allowed in here", he crossed his sturdy arms, blocking the doorway. I took out the visitor badge and showed it to him. He took one look and his face paled a little, "already? Well fine. Close it down if you want. I'm already building one in minami Shinjuku."

"No, actually I'm not here for that. I'm here to ask about a potential threat that someone may have hidden in this stadium", I corrected. He looked relieved, "well then, what makes you suspect that?"

"That is classifed information, I'm afraid. All I need to know is if there is an aread where the roof can be opened easily. Something near the center", I got straight to the point.

"Well, there is the lighting operations room. And a few storage areas here and there. What is this about?"

"Can you tell me where this room is?"

"I'll give you a goddamn map of the place I'm so happy but at least tell me what's happening", he moved aside to let me into the room. I decided to go along. I had time, a little.

"There is a gang who wants to spread a air-borne disease here in Kabukicho. To clear the place up. I'm from the foreign investigations unit, my name is Laurie", this way I could tell him I was L if nessecary.

"What are we looking for then?"

I stopped here. I was only giving him this much information because I knew no one would believe him if he ever told. If I got other people involved, it would raise questions.

"May I have the map you spoke of first?"

"Sure", he dug in the drawer and handed me a set of photocopied blueprints, "now what does this disease look like? Is it a liquid? I don't really believe you but we need to take security precautions just in case. I have no problem beliving someone would want to destroy the place."

I smiled, "sorry, but that is classified. I'll take care of it", I stood, bowed, and left the room. He called after me but I had already run down the hall to get away.

"That was conveinient", Ryuk laughed behind me. I silently agreed with him.

Suddenly my iPhone rang. I reached into my pocket and took it out, unlocking it to answer the call.

"_I'm not that impressed little May. You're getting late."_

"Who is this?" I asked. I managed to keep emotion from my voice, but i was a little worried. It seemed this person knew what I was doing.

"_Don't ask that sweetie, just keep walking down the hall alright? I will help you. You don't seem to understand everything yet."_

"Who are you?" I asked. But I walked down the hall like he said. It was a man's voice, rather deep but still soft, so it couldn't be anyone too old.

"_I said that you didn't need to know. Oh wait, turn here. Yes, good. Just keep walking straight now."_

"Who's on the phone?" Ryuk asked. I didn't answer him. I had the feeling I knew that voice from somewhere. More importantly, how did he know where I was?

"_Turn here. Into the room."_

I was in a small room now. It was covered with switchboards and computers. The lighting room. It seemed this stranger wanted to help. That, at least, was good. I could forget about asking him who he was for now.

_Now go to the fourth row of switched and push the small blue lever upwards. _

I did as he said. A section of the board swung open.

_Take the key from inside and close the board. Good, now go to the back and insert the key into the safe. _

The key opened the safe which was imbedded into the wall. It came open as I twisted the handle. Inside were white bags.

_Very good Mayra. Now I want you to take those with you. The workers usually keep their bags on the hook behind the door. Steal one and load it with the bags. _

My hands had just started to shake now. This was too strange. Who was this person? I went back to the door and grabbed one of the worn bags. I turned it upside down to empty it of the possessions inside, and then took it back to the safe. I pushed the bags of clear white power in one at a time and added L's laptop inside as well, closing the bag and slinging it over my shoulder. This didn't seem right. Why was it so easy? Why was this person telling me this. And how did he get my private cell number? I was almost in a dizzy trance. But I obliged.

_When you are done. Take your friends and leave. But don't put the key back, I want you to keep it. It will be useful to you later. Goodbye little May. I'll see you soon. _

"Wait-"

He had already hung up. I'll see you later…what did that mean? I gave up on trying to understand for the moment. I could do that back when I was safe, with Light and L back at headquarters. At least I knew that the caller didn't know who L or Light was, as he had only referred to them as 'my friends'. He seemed to like giving out information. If he had known who they were there was no doubt he would have said it.

"Did the person who called you tell you where to find the drug?" Ryuk asked as I stumbled into the hall, tightly clutching the bag. I didn't answer.

There were footsteps in front of me, I glanced up for a split second, then looked down again, heart beating so fast I was afraid it would tear out. The two people who had kidnapped L and Light…they were coming down the hall. I shook my head slightly so my hair fell in front of my face, and continued walking. Thankfully, they didn't notice me, and continued on to the lighting room.

_If that person had called a minute later…they would have gotten to it before I did. _I realized suddenly. I took out the laptop and looked at the recording. It seemed the lense was lying on the floor outside a room. L must have dropped it outside the room they took him to so I could see the doorplates. It read 'Dressing Room'.

I asked the next person who came my way where the dressing room was ('dressing room wa doko?' in my horrible japanese), and they pointed me in the direction. It was almost too easy from there on.

I stepped in front of the room where Light and L were held captive, and knocked on the door. A muffled sound was heard from the other side, and I opened the door easily. There was no lock, and they would have tied them up anyway.

"Hmm, im hm hm hmmm hm hmmm", a very annoyed-looking L was sitting in one corner, blindfolded and bound with a cloth stuffed and tied onto his mouth. On the other side were Watari and Light. Light was still unconscious, but Watari was awake and tied up. I slid the blindfold off L's face first, and reached around to un-tie the gag. He sputtered as soon as it came off, and motioned towards his hands. I reached down to do those too. The method they used wasn't very effective. The criminals had been amateurs. They had rolled up pieces of cloth to secure them, and though it was hard for the tied person to get up, it was easy for someone else to help them. I supposed it was because it only needed to be temporary.

Once L was freed, he went over to help me un-tie Watari.

"I suppose by looking at that bag that you've recovered the drug?" When L asked this, I got a strange feeling. He had said it in a very strange way. Completely emotionless and un-caring. Not the slightest bit relieved. He was…different somehow. Different from the old L.

"Yes. We're safe. We just need to get back", I answered after a moment.

"Then I suppose it's over. Watari, you will arrest those two criminals tomorrow. Take us back first", again he spoke emotionlessly. More so than usual.

"The car is parked in the back. We can get Yagami-kun out without anyone seeing", Watari said, picking up Light over his shoulder. I nodded. L walked out and we followed him.

When we were back in the hotel, I retired to my room for the night. I was exhausted, and I still had to finish all the assignments.

"So you made it through huh? I have to go now. My deathnote's owner will get curious if I'm gone for too long", Ryuk said, preparing to leave out the window. I nodded, then turned to his retreating form.

"Wait, Ryuk. You never told me, what was the name of that person the forth Kira met and tried to kill? The name of Lucas Axel?"

He grinned, "oh yeah, right. His name was Dmitri Arsov, though I'm not sure if im pronouncing it right.

"L, why did you call for May? You could've called our secret task force instead. Actually you could've have gotten out by yourself if you wanted", Watari addressed the young man sitting characteristically in his chair. The detective just placed another sugar cube on the top of his growing structure.

"Yes, I could've gotten out by myself. But what would happen to Light? You could have taken care of yourself, but Light would probably have died after they came back to kill him."

"But what about Mayra? You risked her life by calling her there. In fact, there was a rather good chance that in the end, Mayra would die there and the rest of us would come out safely", the old man set the cup of tea on the desk in front of his charge.

"Yes…there was a 48% chance of that."

"Is there any reason that you would want Mayra to die, L?"

"Mayra is dangerous. She is a variable unaccounted for in all of this. The only one who has nothing to lose here. She is also a personal distraction, it would be convienient if she was taken out. Watari have you gotten all her records as I asked?"

Watari held up a group of papers, "yes L I have. It seems she lead a rather normal life. She is the only daughter of a systems analyst and a network architect. She was very artistically and technologically talented at a young age, and she played the piano and the guitar. Around eleven years of age, it is noted that she displayed mathematical talents, though she purposely failed her tests to gain attention, from who it does not say. Her only weakness was language, and ost of her teachers said she very blatantly expressed her opinion of history as 'a useless and paper-wasting subject to sit though'. At the age of fourteen she met the man we knew as April, and he played a fatherly role to her. I've found out that he often challenged her with incredibly hard system bypass jobs and she completed them all."

"Is there anything more interesting? Does she have any governmental history?"

"No, she was never a spy or agent or anything of the sort. She seemed to lose her ambition during her second year of university and settled to become a programmer. before she came to Japan, she lived in a small new apartment."

"Anyone she was particularity aquainted with?"

"No one of interest except for April. And…she also had a friend in highschool that apparently encouraged her in her ore illegal technological activites later on. A girl named Lena Mihailov."

At this, the detective put his teacup down, "any information on this girl?"

"You should know her, L. She is coming to Japan to explore the possibilities of Kira using a biological weapon as part of the team we sent for. And she is also engaged to another person on the team, Dmitri Arsov."

L's thumb went back into his mouth, "Watari…I think I am beginning to understand something. Something is happening. Everything is getting a little more clear. The group, they are arriving in two days. It always comes back to…please leave me to think."

"L, what about Mayra. You don't really want her dead do you?"

"She's an enigma, Watari. All I know is that if I die anytime, I don't want her to stay alive. I don't know what they are, but May definitely has motives of her own. And they seem related to Kira, even though I am 100% sure she is not Kira herself. I don't know if her motives will benefit me or not, but I'm not willing to wait to find out. I will work with her, but only because she is helpful to the investigation. You may go."

His back was turned away, so he didn't see the look of worry Watari gave him.


	26. Exterior Intel Team

**Yes, the chapter about Angel was actually part of the plot. I wanted this to be a thought-out story so i'm not doing many chapters that are meant to be purely fillers. **

**And yes, everyone here needs to watch the movie 'L: Change the World'. Kenichi Matsuyama makes an awesome L, so go check that out. btw doodlebuddi, what connection? Do you mean L's white bag? Oh and thank you for all the ideas on a new summary, i'm in the middle of planning one right now. **

**Thanks so much for the long reviews! Long reviews are the best kind, and they are soo helpful! I actually prefer having fewer but thought-out reviews rather than a lot of 'great story. update' and you guys have really fulfilled that. It made me go on a major typing spree and i have the next chapter done too! **

**Chap 26**

The next morning I had to get up early. I'd stayed up until midnight doing my homework, and I'd only gotten six hours of sleep. One thing still stayed in my mind, Dmitri Arsov. I'd only ever met him once, at a party Lena had invited me too. At the time he had been her boyfriend, and I knew that he was her fiancée now. Wonder what he did to piss Kira off so much. I would've loved to stay innocent about it, but I knew now that there was something happening. What did Dmitri have to do with any of this?

I put on a pair of jeans and a top and rushed to L's main room with my bag. I had time to spend before we had to leave. L was sitting on the couch with Light sleeping beside him. Poor guy probably was too tired to argue with the detective on getting to a bed.

"Good morning May. I have a question to ask", L was sitting silently and sipping his morning tea.

"Sure", I put my bag down and sat.

"Do you know a man named Dmitri Arsov?"

That was a little unexpected. I didn't allow myself to show any surprise. So far, I didn't see the connection. To me, Dmitri was just my friend's fiancée. How did L know about him? More importantly, what did he have to do with Kira? Was it related to how Kira had tried to kill him so vehemently?

"Yes, he's my friend's fiancée", I told him truthfully.

"Tell me everything you know about him", he took another sip.

"Well, he's very intelligent. My friend talks about him all the time so I know quite a lot. He apparently wanted to become a theoretical physicist at first, but his parents didn't approve. Now he's a cardiologist and assistant surgeon, but he does research in his spare time", I thought for a few seconds, "about his personality, well, he's rather creepy actually. He has a habit of not breaking eye contact so it seems he's staring at you. And he's extremely forgetfull. Apparantly he forget's almost everything. I know that because my friend tells me she always writes on his hand when she wants him to remember something. That's all I know."

"Thank you. It was helpful", he set the teacup down, "I assume you completed all your work?"

"Yes. Why did you ask that about Dmitri? Is he involved in the Kira case?" I figured my questions would sound more genuine if they were really what I wanted to know. He looked at me for a few seconds, "you don't need to know that. It seems that I…am unfit."

I feigned a smile, "of course you are. You don't get out much after all."

"You understand my meaning. I no longer have any leads on Kira, after all. This case is slipping out of my hands. It's become too bothersome. I have no plans, and this is the first time I have felt like this", he really did look depressed. This was where I got worried.

"You can't think that way now. The world is depending on you. You're the only one who can catch Kira", I let the worry show in my eyes.

"Really? I don't think so. I could not have come up with half of what I accomplished without Light and you. In fact, the two of you may be even more capable of being L than I am…" he looked down dejectedly, "I may even die soon."

"Don't be so morbid!" We turned around to find Light sitting up and rubbing his eyes, watching L. I silently cheered him on.

"Don't you agree, Light? After all, I wasted so much time suspecting you…"

Now I knew it was an act. He wasn't really depressed, he was trying something. The L I knew believed Light was Kira until the very end.

"Yes indeed. So much time wasted", I agreed, settling back into a comfortable position on the couch.

"And I couldn't have done anything without you and May", he put his finger in his mouth.

"Definitely. Couldn't have done anything. You're absolutely useless without us", I nodded fiercely.

"And I now have no leads, I'm losing my skill, Light."

"Oh yes of course. You're definitely losing it. Not the world's greatest detective anymore, are you. You should give your position to Light. And while you're at it I can have Deneuve and Eraldo Coil right? Now that you're useless and all", I waved my hand dramatically and looked very thoughtful. L stared at me curiously.

"What are you doing May! He's depressed! We can't let our only chance of catching Kira get depressed!" Light yelled.

"Relax, Light. He's not serious. He's probably testing us or something along the lines. He's not really down", I gestured while I spoke. Light relaxed visibly but still had worry in his eyes, "how do you know that?"

"Because he made it sound like he wrongly suspected you. Light, I know that L will think you are Kira until the day he dies. He would never say something like that", I turned to look at the detective.

"Very good, May. That is correct. But what about you?" He put his finger back in his mouth.

"Light used to be Kira. His power was transferred. The Kira in him probably planned to gain it back somehow in the future", I shrugged.

"Exact, again. That is my theory as well", we both turned to look at the accused.

"That's it. The world hates me", Light slapped his forehead, "I might as well wear a shirt that says 'I am Kira' on it and broadcast it to the world."

"Light, the cameras caught that. If I wanted I could use it against you", L actually emitted a small smile. Then he turned to me, "May, I have another thing to ask of you. I'll give all your work in to the university and inform you of the lectures you have, if you can do something for me during the day."

"What is it Ryuzaki?" I actually had no clue what he was going to ask me. Maybe I was losing my touch…

"I want you to act as my rep", he leaped back onto the sofa and sat across from me.

"You're representative? To who? The police? I thought Watari did that", I cocked my head to one side.

"No, not to the police, and Watari will be unavailable for a while. I want you to act as my rep in front of a special research team I've sent for. The rest of japan thinks they are here to explore the possibility of Kira using a bio weapon, but I will be using them as a private exterior operations team."

This was starting to sound oddly familier, "well, I don't have a problem with it if I can keep up with my grades in uni. But what about Light? Won't there be a problem with him attending class attached to you like that?"

"Actually, I'm dropping out."

I'd forgotten about that. Light's decision to join the police…

"I'm going to join the Kira investigation team as part of the Japanese police force. I've already gotten approval from Kitamura-san to work privately with L", Light went on.

"Are you sure? It's a big waste of talent if you don't have any firm certifications."

"I'm sure, May. I plan to work here for at least the next two year, and if I ever want to change work, I'l have experience to back me up instead of academics", Light gave me a smile. I knew that if I were him, I would never have something as educationally de-grading as a dropout record, especially with all his goals, but I supposed it would work since he had a history with the world's greatest detective.

"Now that everything is settled, I'll have Watari drive you to your first meeting with my team. You'll have to dress more formally like you usually do, though. They have an office dress code. Watari will pick you up in an hour", he started making a pile of sugar cubes and I took it as my cue to leave.

"Sure, I'll be ready", I started to get up from my seat.

"Wait a moment. You'll also need to take this", he got up and took a sleek macbook air off his desk, "this has my communication program embedded into it. I'll have to confirm your identity. On the topic of identity, choose a name that starts with the letter L, just in case", he continued with his stack.

"Laurie", I told him. Using the same name as I had used in Kabukicho.

"Laurie Lesune, then. That will be your name. You will not carry any identification. I can confirm your identity to the police if need be, and if you lose the laptop you still have the bracelet", he handed me the laptop and I took it, nodding.

Back in my room, I stripped and dressed quickly in a pair of black dress pants and a grey top, adding a gray doll coat on top since it was still chilly outside. I snapped the contact bracelet onto my wrist and combed my hair out until it looked sedu.

Watari knocked on the door and I slipped the laptop into my laptop case and walked out.

"Good morning Watari", I told him.

"Yes it is miss Mayra", his face was pulled into a grandfartherly smile, "let's head out quickly, we don't want to keep the team waiting. I will inform you of everything you will have to brief them on while we drive."

"I have to inform them? Won't L do that?"

"No I'm afraid not. It seems he does not want to speak to the public at the moment as he is afraid he will say something he is not supposed to. He will only confirm your identity, and you will have to do everything else", he explained while we were in the elevator.

"I see…"

When we reached the car, Watari opened the door for me as if he was just the chaffeur and I got in.

"The first thing you will have to tell them about is the leads on the Kira case", he started.

"How much should I tell them?"

"Everything but the names, he does not want any names mentioned. Not even Misa's. You may refer to the police investigators with numbers, and kira suspects with letters. Do not give them any information that will lead them to names either."

"So I should tell them about all of our hypothesis?"

"Yes. Kira needs a name and a face, the second Kira, the diary, the confinement. However you will not tell them you were in confinement, refer to yourself as a a Kira suspect."

This wasn't so complicated. I was surprised everything was happening to fast, but it was manageable.

"Watari, what about you? Will you be revealing yourself?"

"No, I will not. From now on, L's communicator Watari does not exist. I will no longer be showing myself in public. I am not permitted to tell you the reasons for this."

"I see", that was a little surprising. So L wanted me to take Watari's place in his outside interactions…

"You will also have to tell them their purpose. After the end of confinement, Light came up with a trend in the killings. They are all benefitting the company Yotsuba."

So they had already started suspecting Yotsuba. It had probably happened while I had been out of in my room.

"Inform them that they are to keep an eye out for Yotsuba while doing their other investigations. L wants to use them as exterior intel on Yotsuba for the moment. He has also called for two other sources, who you will meet when we get back. But they are only to know that they are supposed to investigate Yotsuba. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Good. L will watch while you confer with them and he might send you additional information to present to them."

I nodded. So I was supposed to be a voice. Got it.

"We have arrived. This building is owned by a company who was willing to let us take a conference room for today. We are not booking any conference rooms with our own names for security purposes. Go to room 500. I will wait in the parking lot, section 5A", he smiled as I got out, "you'll do well."

The car left for the parking lot as I turned around as entered the tall business apartment. I looked for a desk as soon as I walked in. There was one by the corner where a young man was sitting behind and writing something.

"May I know where room 500 is?" I asked him. He nodded, "it's on floor twenty-five, right hand side."

"Thank you", I walked to the elevator and got in, pressing floor 25. It was a long wait, and I realized that the 'additional intel' I would meet when I got back would be Aiber and Wedy. I couldn't wait, I'd always admired con-people when i was younger. I hadn't been a very sociable kid, so I'd idolized people who could talk their way to anything.

When the floor finally arrived, I got out and turned right. Room 500. I knocked first, then turned the handle and stepped in.

There were four people sitting on the other sides of the circular conference table. The first was an slendar Indian man wearing a suit, tie, and black glasses. The second was also Indian, or looked Indian. He had black hair that fell into one eye and shook his head slightly to shake it away. His hands were long and he wore a silver ring on his index finger, but most of the other fingers were covered in thin white scars. The third person surprised me. It was Dmitri, in the flesh. Creepy smile and everything. He watched me with his humored deep green eyes and I walked over to my seat, trying my best to keep any surprise off my face. I hoped I was succeeding.

The fourth person was Lena.

**Review if you like what you read!**


	27. Mistaken

**The major plot is back! Thanks for the reviews! Again, they were well written and motivating. What do you think of the new summary?**

**Chapter 27**

She had an extremely surprised look on her face as I took my seat, my face emotionless. Thankfully, she kept silent and didn't say anything. I took the laptop out of the case and set it on the table, silently accesing the system like I'd seen Watari do. I turned the screen to face them as soon as the cloister black L came into view.

"People of the biological investigations team, I am L."

A few eyes were raised, and Lena's, especially, were wide. She knew I was working with L now.

"During this meeting, you will be briefed by my personal investigator, Laurie. She will inform you of the investigation leads that have been made, as well as your purpose as part of my exterior intel team. Introduce yourselves to her, as she will be the communication between you and myself. That is all."

I turned the screen back to face me and looked up at the first unknown man. He reached into the inside of his suit coat and pulled out a driver's license for ID.

"My name is Surya Sen. I am both a cardiologist and a former analyst from RAW", he put it back into his pocket and shifted his glasses up with one finger. An analyst from the Research and Analysis Wing…interesting. It seemed L had chosen these people carefully.

The second man followed suit, "Adithya Nayar. Feild agent from RAW. I have no official medical background that pertains to this case", he ran a hand through his hair, "I have worked as a persuader before in RAW."

A conman, but one who was also an experienced field agent…I turned to Dmitri. He still had the smile on his face.

"Dmitri Arsov. Assistant heart surgeon and quantum specialist. Feels good to finally add that last part to my title." I supposed he had been given permission to carry out his research at an institute. The first man, Sen, looked at him rather disapprovingly for his outburst at the end.

Finally, I turned to Lena. She seemed to understand it was important to not give me away. She tilted her head a little so her blond hair swung over her shoulder. She looked out of place among them, but the others seemed to accept her.

"Lena Mihailov. Heart surgeon."

It was simple, but conveyed a lot of respect. I could see why the others liked her.

"Well, as L has already told you, my name is Laurie. Nice to be working with you. I'll start at the very beginning of our investigations.

I explained everything to them, while ommiting the names. The chief was number 1, Aizawa was number 2, Mogi was number 3, and Matsuda was number 4. Light was Suspect A, Misa suspect B, and I named myelf suspect C. I watched for ther reactions as I told them everything. Lena's emotions showed actively on her face, especially her surprise at certain things. Dmitri just kept a slight smile on his face all the way. I would have loved to see him do anyting else, but it seemed the guy didn't know how to show anything else. He had been a pretty hot guy back in highschool, and he still kept the good looks, but I couldn't see exactly how Lena was with him.

The two other men seemed rather young, I suspected they were both still in their twenties. Sen was very reserved, he reminded me of Mikami. At least, his glasses did. He seemed to love toying with his watch, absentmindedly twisting it around. On the other hand, Nayar showed almost as much emotion as Lena. He watched me frequently, though. I had a suspicion that he was interested in knowing who L was.

"Now, the purpose L has assembled you for is to be his exterior intel. You will probably be required to know the area as well as possible. Your very first assignment is to investigate the company Yotsuba", at this, the screen changed and a graph popped up. A 3d graph with data shown as a sort of blanket with mountains here and there. I supposed L was trying to help me explain. I turned the screen around, "this is a graph of the latest killings. The independent variable shows the time, and the dependant variable represents the killings per time. The z-axis shows the killings per time that benefit the Yotsuba group."

Small gasps were heard from Lena and Adithya. The mountains in the data blanket were spread out over a certain time, Fridays. It was a definite trend.

"As you can see, there is a trend here, which lead us to suspect that the Yotsuba group is somehow involved with Kira. Over the next two weeks, you will investigate possibilities and report back", I finished. They all nodded.

"I suppose this meeting is finished then. I will contact you with the information regarding future meetings", I packed up the laptop.

"A question, miss Laurie. In what ways are we permitted to investigate. And what precautions are we restricted to?" Surya asked. I thought about it for a second.

"L is a very objective person, Mr. Sen. I'm sure you are permitted to do anything you wish. If you need any equipment or technical advice, just contact me."

"So you are a technologist?" Adithya wondered. I smiled a little at him, "I shouldn't give you an answer, but yes, I am, sometimes. This meeting is probably finished. We should leave, our time with this room is over."

I stood and left the room with the laptop. The others followed suit and we entered the elevator together. The ride down was pretty silent, but Dmitri soon broke it.

"So are you going to be working with us Laurie?"

"Not directly, no", I replied, "I work for L."

"So you know who L is? You've seen his face?" Lena suddenly asked. I winced internally.

"Yes, I do", there was no denying it. Adithya looked especially interested at this.

Suddenly the laptop beeped and I took it out with one hand and flipped it open as we walked out. The others stopped, interested. The letter L appeared on the screen.

"Laurie, I'll have to ask that you spend a little more time talking to our team here. Watari had to come back because of a technical issue and won't be returning to pick you up for an hour."

"I understand", I told him, closing the laptop. Just great.

"We're all staying in a hotel nearby that has been booked for us, and it has a great café nearby. Would you like to come with us to get breakfast, if you haven't already eaten?" Dmitri suggested.

"I will, thanks", I decided it was better than waiting. I was only a little afraid that Lena would blow my cover. Genius she was, she didn't have a subtle piece in her. She looked the same as I'd always known her, except she seemed to be wearing a little makeup for professional purposes. That was where I never changed. Makeup still felt to uncomfortable to me, except lipgloss or sometimes lip stain.

We walked down the street to an elaborate hotel and Adithya showed them his card, letting us in. There was a small café further down after two floors, and we took seats. Since the breakfast was a buffet, everyone went up for the food, but Lena stayed back with me for a moment.

"Is it okay to talk here May?" She asked, honey colored eyes wide.

"Yes, I suppose…" As soon as I finished, Lena had a huge smile on her face.

"I understand now! L must have heard of you and asked you to work as his techie in the Kira case! That's amazing May, I'm so proud of you!"

"It's the opposite really", I had to tell her a little. If I didn't I would have a hard time cocering for myself later, "I came here to find out who L was and to work with him on the case. When I proved myself enough, he let me. That's it", I shrugged. She grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me with excitement., "that's amazing! I always knew my May would do something extrodinary in life! You're helping the world now, you can catch criminals with L for a job…"

"Careful, the others are coming back soon", I gently pushed myself out of her grasp, "lets go to the buffet now. Remember to keep pretending you don't know me alright?"

She gave me a playful salute, "you got it Laurie!"

I collected a plate of toast and eggs and went back to the table to find everyone else already back.

"So what's your view on Kira miss Laurie?" Adithya asked once he realized no one else was going to start a conversation. I took my time thinking about it and then decided that he didn't need to know.

"I think Kira has the right concept, but there are too many possible inaccuracies to consider. In the end it's impossible to correctly kill only those who deserve to die. So I would say that I am indifferent on Kira. I only work against him due to my loyalty to L", I finished. I had not given any opinions, so I was happy with it.

"But you know, maybe the sacrifices are alright if you think about the greater good", Lena said absentmindedly. Everyone stared at her. "but this Kira person isn't worthy of it, and there's no way of knowing who is", she saved herself in time. Before they started suspecting she supported Kira.

"Personally, I believe in what Kra is doing. However I don't like his character, he seems like someone arrogant and childish. Not the type of person I would want as a world ruler", Surya put in eloquently. Dmitri looked around, though everyone was waiting for him to provide an answer, "well, don't you all have good opinions. What about you ? You posed the question, but we don't know your views." He seemed to escape answering.

"Actually I am strongly against Kira. I'd say so in public if I was given the chance. If I was killed by Kira on tv, the world would begin to understand that he is only a killer with a god complex", Nayar replied confidently. I was surprised, I didn't think a conman would have such a stron opinion. Then again, he could just be saying it to gain our respect or favor.

At that moment, my cell phone rung. The others watched as I took it out of my pocket and put it to my ear. The caller ID confirmed it as Watari.

"Laurie, am I correct in assuming you are in the same hotel as our team?"

"Yes", I replied, "are you here?"

"I am right outside the main door."

"I'll be out in a few minutes", I stood and gathered my bag, stuffing the phone back into my pocket, "the main entrance is two levels down right?" I asked the team.

"Yes", Dmitri got up as well, "I'll show you."

He lead me to the elevator and we waited for one to come down to our level. Dmitri's smile wasn't on his face as it always was, probably because I wasn't looked directly at him. Now he just had a pleasant look on his face.

"So when are you and Lena getting married?" I asked him. The elevator was far up and I figured it would be an awkward silence without a topic.

"We don't really know yet, actually. Maybe next year, she wants it in the spring. You, of course, will have to be her maid of honor", he smiled at me, "she won't have anyone else."

"I would be honored to", I told him, a smile creeping onto my face.

"I remember you from grade nine, you know. You don't need to act like Laurie around me, I won't tell."

"From grade nine?" I was surprised he knew me from all the way back then. I'd only met him in my junior year.

"Yes. You were the girl who played that prank on the teacher. On Microsoft word, you replaced the word formatting so everytime they typed the word 'the' it changed to 'I am imagining this'. It was hilarious."

I remembered that vaguely, "oh yeah…"

"You and Lena, always sitting by that tree reading manga. I'd had a crush on Lena, so I made it a point to know all of her friends", he smiled again. I found it a little creepy that he had technically been stalking me for a while, "I see..."

"So how did you end up here in Japan? Lena spoke about you all the time, she said you became a game programmer and did some hacking in your spare time", he questioned. I told him the same thing I'd told Lena, "I came here looking for L. I found him and asked if I could help with the investigation and he let me. That's all."

"Oh? Lena said you'd come here looking for a sick relaive. In fact, you named that sick relative to her. Hmm…what was the name?...It was a rather strange name you mentioned so I didn't think I'd forget it…"

The arrival of the elevator helped me artfully hide both my sudden paleness and my shock. I remembered exactly what I had told Lena.

"_Not at all. I don't think you've ever mentioned either of them." She continued to watch me, "Who are they?"_

"_Lawliet is a…relative of mine. He's sick and I'm going there to visit him. He's in Japan for work at the moment", I made up quickly._

It had been a cover-up for mentioning the name…I never thought it would come back t bite me in the butt. Lena wasn't too perspective on these things, but if Dmitri remembered the name that was so strange and, coincidentally started with an L, he would pick up on it. I was almost certain.

"Did I say Layfeild? I had to make up a name on the spot to make an excuse to her, so I don't remember it anymore", I tried. I immediately noticed a flaw in my reasoning. If I'd had to make up a strange name, why would it be a weird one? I bit my lip slightly in thought.

"No I think it was…Lowlight. Yes that was it. Your fake relative was Lowlight. Strange name you made up, it sounds like something out of a british tv show", he smiled yet again, "oh look, we're here. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah…bye", I waved and left. The only thing I had to thank my stars for was that he would only know it as Lowlight, spelling it the way it was pronounced. If Light ever just heard it instead of seeing it written, he would write it l-o-w-l-i-g-h-t instead of l-a-w-l-i-e-t. There was a good ten percent chance that Dmitri picked up on it and started questioning it, but I had a feeling he was against Kira. If he made any trouble I could explain everything to L and have him put under confinement. If all else failed, there was always induction of amniesia by being 'tripped' and falling onto something hard.

Watari was waiting outside like he'd said. When I got in, he asked me a few questions about the meeting, but everything else was quiet. It was only later on in the trip that I realized that Dmitri had said he had seen us _reading manga. _Because of the entire 'deathnote doesn't exist anymore' phenomenon, Lena never even remembered that we had reald manga together. So how could Dmitri have known?


	28. Actress

**Whoops, long time no upload. There was school and exams coming up and then summer started and i thought I'd be able to write but I've been too busy trying to learn two year's worth of Calculus III in two weeks. Surprisingly it worked. Then i started on linear algebra and molecular biology and it went on like that. By the way, if you're interested in something new (that's kind of mathy/techy) go read the book 'Godel Escher Bach' by Douglas Hofstadter. It can be downloaded free online and i think a lot of people should definitely read it. **

**Chapter 28**

It could have been a misunderstanding.

It could have been his imagination.

It could have even been revenge for years of tearing their heads off with his teeth.

But the fact of the matter was that L was being chased by giant gummy bears.

The detective sprang up from where he had been lying on the couch.

"Light, I don't believe sleeping is as pleasurable as you and May make it out to be when both of you are lazing on my couches. I do not understand how you can do it for so many hours and actually enjoy it", he slid off the couch and dusted himself off, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the remains of the nightmare.

Light looked back and sighed. He was at the computer, their positions switched after he insisted the detective try sleeping for as much time as a normal person in taking a nap. He should have known…

"What, were you being chased by giant gummy bears? Don't be such a baby…"

Suddenly L was right in front of him, staring him down.

"What is it? You're too close…"

The detective put a thumb into his mouth, "3.5 percent again, Light."

"What! I thought we were done with that! Aren't we investigating Yotsuba?" The suspect demanded, preparing a fist at his side in case the other needed some disciplining.

"I've added 0.5 percent for your mind reading. If Kira's powers are supernatural in any way, he might have mind reading abilities as well", he turned away to get a mid-afternoon snack. Light stood there for a few moments, utterly confused. His hand loosened out of it's fist, "whatever…".

"May will be returning in a few moments, I think. I created a 'delay' so I could see how familiar she was with the girl from the team", his face darkened as he tossed a sugar cube into his mouth.

"Girl from the investigation team? What do you mean? What is this investigation team anyway? You've stopped telling me things, I'm hurt", Light stopped his typing to look back at the detective. L stared back at him for a second, then sighed and walked over. He pulled up one of Watari's name databases from the computer Light was working on. He typed in 'intel' and four profiles immediately came up.

"You see, Light, I've chosen a few special people to make up my exterior Intel team. Their purpose to the world will be to investigate biological weapons that Kira could use, and they will do that. However they will also serve as my connection to a few select places. I've set them on investigating Yotsuba", he clicked on each profile and a detailed record came up, "Watari picked these two first", he pointed to two Indian men.

"These two have experience as agents. The first one is a former analyst from RAW, and he was easy to pick since he now works as a cardiologist. He managed to finish his medical degree in five years, which is rather amazing. The second one is only a field agent, he was originally intended to attend a certain place I knew from my childhood. He seems rather unrelated to my purpose but he is very resourceful", he then clicked on the picture of the beautiful blond girl with the shy smile, "this is Lena Mihailov. Watari never intended to choose her in the beginning, as she is purely a medical specialist, but we learned that she has…connections that could benefit us. One of those is a close friendship with May, who I am still investigating", finally, he clicked on a profile of a young man with green eyes, "I came upon this man by accident. He was the only one I chose by myself. He doesn't seem like much as his only official qualifications are medical, and not related to my investigations, but recently he's been a point of interest. He seems to be knowledgeable about things I'd rather not have people know", he closed the screen.

"So how does May relate to this?" Light asked, "she's friends with one of them, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"I originally thought she had something to do about…well, why I let May into the team. But now I know she isn't the one I should be looking into. I was listening to May's conversations through her laptop, which was on record the entire time. The one I should be worried about", he pulled up the picture of the Russian man, "is this man. Dmitri Arsov."

The rest of the task force was in the room when I returned with Watari.

"Welcome back, May. I trust everything went well? You two were terribly late coming back" L said.

"Yes, it was fine. There were some traffic problems. When will the next meeting be?" I asked. He tilted his head, "I haven't decided yet. I'll inform you when I do. In the mean time, I'll have to inform you that Aizawa-san is no longer in the team."

I never expected it to happen so quickly, "why?" I had to ask, it would be strange I wasn't curious.

"The police are withdrawing on the case. Unfortunately Aizawa-san has a family to support and I was testing him to see if he could risk them for Kira. It's nothing to disapprove of him for, he had a wife and child to support", while he spoke, I saw Light give me a strange look. I wondered what they had been talking about before I returned.

"On a brighter note, we've confirmed the stock rise for Yotsuba. It's obvious that they have some link to Kira", Light informed me.

"That's great, we have a new lead", I set my bag down on the couch. Suddenly the door behind me opened. I shot around quickly, I hadn't heard L push the allow entry code.

"Gentlemen, please welcome two new members of the investigation team", the detective didn't even turn in his chair.

Two people stood in the doorway. One was a blond lady with sunglasses, and the other was a smiling light haired man with a cigarette in his mouth.

"They are Aiber and Wedy. Aiber is a specialist in linguistics, and Wedy is an expert on security systems."

Chief Yagami frowned, "a thief and a con man? Is it right to work with them?"

Wedy gave him a glare, but L stepped in between them, "to catch a criminal, , you must think like one. These two have been highly useful in the past and I suppose they will help us greatly in this case. Do you understand?"

"Well, I suppose…but is there anything in particular that you had in mind?"

L picked up a cookie from a nearby table and chewed on it, "actually , I think we will have to work in our separate ways now…you've helped me greatly so far and I thank you for it."

"What!" Matsuda looked shocked, "but Ryuzaki!..."

"Is there a problem? You, Mogi, and Matsuda will have all the resources you want from here, but you must work on a different floor. You may also keep up the video surveillance in case there is anything I do not catch", he moved over to Light, "Light and May will be working with me of course. May is here for that purpose, and Light is attached to me for safety already and I don't plan to remove these chains yet."

looked slightly upset, "fine, we'll work without you."

"That's good. Light, May, follow me. Aiber, Wedy, you may make yourselves comfortable here and I will call for you if I need you."

The two nodded and I followed L out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Light asked.

"To see Misa."

"Why", I wasn't sure where Misa came in yet. I really needed to re-read the manga.

My question went unanswered. We took the elevator to Misa's floor and stopped outside her bedroom.

L turned to us, "I'd like the two of you to stay here while I convince Misa to help us investigate Yotsuba."

"What? No! That's too dangerous for her! You can't send her in there, her name is too well known, she'll die!" Light started at him wide-eyed. After a moment of hesitation I joined in, "He's right Ryuzaki, this probably isn't a good idea. Personally, I don't think she's that good of an actor, she's not subtle enough. She's like a battering ram where we need a scalpel. She'll give us away", I remembered a little more now. In the anime, L had taken Light in to see Misa, but now that Misa wasn't Light's official girlfriend, she would feel too shy confessing that he was the reason she wanted to join.

"Actually, Misa is exactly what we need. She's strange enough to be suspicious. And don't worry, Light, we'll have her secured at all times…well, most times at least. Please wait out here", he opened the door and stepped in, shutting it in our faces. We stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Suddenly Light tugged on my arm. I turned to look at him and he pointed down the hall.

"What are we-"

"Shh!"

I followed him down to a bathroom, and he gestured for me to step in. I had a good idea of what he was planning already. Just as I suspected, he knelt down next to a vent and gestured for me to do the same. I leaned down and put my ear next to it.

"…_to help Light."_

"_Oh I'd love to! I misjudged you. You're soo sweet Ryuzaki, you knew exactly how I felt!"_

Light winced next to me and I stifled a laugh.

"_But you're going to have to be determined Misa, Light thinks you'll be in danger, so he doesn't want you to risk yourself."_

"_Light's worried about me? He's such a sweetheart! Yay! I'll do it Ryuzaki, so well it'll make him proud! I'm an actress after all, one of the best."_

"_You do realize that Light could be Kira, what if he is?"_

"_That would be wonderful! To think Kira would be someone so young and handsome…"_

"_But if he isn't, he'll be one of Kira targets. Light could be in danger."_

"_Oh no! I can't imagine living in a world without Light!"_

"_Yes I imagine that would be rather dark…"_

At this point we both had to stop ourselves from laughing.

"_Oh you're so funny Ryuzaki!"_

"_So you'll help catch Kira?"_

"_Of course!"_

"_I thought you loved Kira."_

"_Yes but my love for Light is so much stronger."_

"_Good, I'll go call Light and May in and then we can start preparing along with the guests I've brought with me."_

"_May? She'll be there?"_

"_Is there a problem Misa?"_

"_No…it's…alright, no problem."_

At this point we sprang up and ran back to the door. A moment later Aiber and Wedy arrived and L opened the door. Misa was right behind him, beaming.

"Light! Did you know I'm going to be an actress for L?"

"Yeah I heard", Light seemed like he was trying to look flustered. Instead his expression came out as indifference and caused Misa's smile to sink a little.

"Come in and I'll explain my plan", L gestured for us to enter.

"Damn it where is she!" Mello yelled through the quiet room. Matt brought up the visual chat window and waited, "she'll be here. She's never late. Get over here Mels, you're talking."

"Why me? I though Near was in charge of our communication", the blond raised an eyebrow.

"Because she's already seen your face. We're taking precautions, so that in case of an emergency me and Near can cover for you", Matt explained, pushing the laptop in front of Mello, "don't tell me you're getting shy."

"Whatever, I'll do it."

The door opened slowly and number One walked in, "is she already connected?"

"You're late sucker. And no but she'll be on in around thirty seconds", Mello grunted at him.

"Then I fail to see how I'm late. In fact I'm thirty seconds early", he sat down facing the back of the laptop, "I presume Matt has already told you about our communication conditions?"

"I'm talking, got it."

The waiting bar reached zero and the chat screen lit up. On the other end of the connection was May, a scarf pulled around her face and hair left free to expose only her eyes.

"So where did you three get so far?" She asked. A voice concealing system seemed to be set on her side of the connection.

"We've read through the information on Beauregard and investigated his past a little. We have a list of twenty people who could have hated him for something. We also came up with ten other victims that died recently of heart attacks at a young age with no previous medical condition. Each on has a good seventy percent chance of having been killed by Kira, so if we investigate the people who could have hated them, we should find a few connections", Mello explained seriously.

"That's good. Send me your suspect lists and I'll see if my other contacts recognize any of them. Once you know who Kira is, contact me and I'll send someone I know to capture him", May seemed a little disappointed but she did a good job hiding it.

"Got it."

"Anything else?" She asked.

"Nope. That's all."

"Then I'll see you again in three days."

The connection stopped and the chat screen went black. Mello leaned back in his seat.

"We should check our suspect list", Near suggested, "I suppose Matt already has the new additions."

"That's right. This time there's fifty. Since I've got a pretty big database now I'll run a search", Matt types away and set the macro for it. The room was silent for a while.

"Who is that?" Near's voice broke the silence. The other two looked at him, and then turned to look where he was pointing. At the window.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The man in the play yard who's talking to Roger", Near tilted his head to one side, "I've never seen him here before-"

"We've got five hits!" Matt cut him off, "that's almost the best we could have hoped for!"

Five was a good number. If there were too few, the chances would be against them. Too much, and research would take too long. The three crowded around the laptop screen.

"Let's start with Max Lands", Mello read off the screen, "his relation to victim number one, Beauregard; business competitor. You can't go wrong there… Looking at the figures I'd estimate that he gained over 50,000 £ in new business because of Beauregard's death. Though they didn't seem to know each other personally. Although his relations to the other victims we found aren't that prominent. Dorm mate in uni, friend in high school…we should probably rule him out. There's a hundred percent chance that Beauregard is a Kira victim, and a seventy percent chance that each of the others are. Which means there's almost a 95 percent chance that ONE of the others are Kira victims. If he has no meaningful connections to one of the others, he's probably not Kira", he finished analyzing.

"Alright, we put Lands aside", Matt erased his name from the info sheet, "then there's Carrie Neil. She moved to France to work as a nuclear physicist and Beauregard was her manager. There's a lot of missing info here but here's a newspaper interview done of her. Beauregard died at work, so she was interviewed for the paper. She implicitly mentions that he didn't have good work ethics, and that he was not liked among the staff of the facility."

"Maybe he was abusive at work?" Near suggested.

"That's probably it. We may have a pretty good source here, she has an actual connection with victim number two as well. He was her brother. I looked it up on her facebook status under family. Her maiden name is the same as his", Matt went on.

"But would she kill him? Did she say anything about him on facebook?"

"Yeah, but not in a bad way. I ran a search through all her past posts."

"Well, it's still a lead", Mello took a piece of chocolate from his pocket and snapped off the tip. So far, one moderately good lead.

"The next suspect should probably be ignored", Near finished reading his information, "he was only a friend to Beauregard and colleagues with the others. Not anywhere near a good lead."

"Yeah, suspect number four is much more interesting. A thirty year old woman, working as a journalist for a French column. Her name is Camille Rouselle. Beauregard was her ex husband", Matt whistled, "now that's a good lead. Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned."

"But who left who?" Near peered over.

"I plan to spend some time getting the divorce papers for the case later. This is a picture of her, taken from facebook, and this is the wedding picture of her ex and his new wife. He re-married three days after their divorce."

Mello scrutinized the picture of Rouselle, "she doesn't look that evil."

"The really bad criminals usually don't look like criminals Mello", Near told him.

"I knew that! I was just commenting. On the other hand, her ex's new wife is smoking hot", Mello went wide-eyed.

"I didn't know you were into forty year olds, Mels", Matt stifled a laugh.

"Forty? I thought Rouselle and her ex were thirty-something's?"

"Yeah, Rouselle is thirty two and her ex is thirty three. Though his new wife Helena is forty two."

"How the hell?" Mello took a closer look, "though you really can't blame the guy, even though she's forty she's a lot hotter. They've got the same hair and eyes but she makes Rouselle look like a ten year old boy! What does she see in him?"

"That's just it, Helena is her older sister. She took her husband away from her", Near explained, reading off the database.

"Then why didn't she kill her sister instead of her ex? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"Maybe it's because she loved her sister. Though if Helena dies of a heart attack anytime soon, we'll know where to look", Matt scrolled further down to a subtitle that read 'victim number two', "anyway, victim number two was her column publisher. Their relationship was nothing official, so it wasn't documented. Though the interesting thing is that her new publisher's name is listed in her facebook account under 'relationships'."

"She killed her publisher so her boyfriend could get the job?"

"That's what it seems like. I put her on here because of her two suspicious relationships with our first two victims, she has no correlation with victim number three."

Near rubbed his head, "so far, she seem very interesting."

"Yeah", Matt replied, "she's writing a column on violent environmentalists. She mentioned somewhere that she's coming to England in two and a half months to meet with a group of environment activists. Anyway, suspect number three is pretty interesting too, his name is-"

"Stop."

Mello and Matt both turned to look at Near, who was twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

"What is it?" Matt asked after a while.

"I'm now relatively sure of two things. The first is that although May is completely loyal to L, she knows much more about this Kira than she's letting on. The second thing is that Camille Rouselle is almost certainly Kira", he finished.

"How can you tell that already? I know she seems suspicious but the third suspect has violent relations with all three victims, and he works as a prosecutor. I was saving the best for last, just hear this one out and then decide", Matt explained.

"You said that she's coming to England in two and a half months. Doesn't it strike you oddly that two weeks ago, May gave us exactly three months to figure out who Kira was? Why the time limit?"

"Hey he's right! At the time we were contacted by May, Rouselle would have planned to leave France in three months. That could be why May gave us three months. She wanted us to hurry up and catch her before she left France. I mean, if there has to be a time limit, why three months, why not one month?" Mello caught on.

"It IS pretty suspicious. But if May knew who Kira was why would she want us to investigate?" Matt asked.

"She doesn't know who Kira is. My hypothesis is that someone who knows who and where Kira is gave her information and told her to 'find Kira in three months'. So when she found out about us she passed on the time limit."

"How do you know that May doesn't know who Kira is? She could be playing around with us?" Mello growled.

"Because she genuinely awaited our progress. She seemed disappointed when Mello explained our work so far, as if she expected us to have found out more. She did not exhibit any of the typical signs of lying, or deceit, and unless she is an extremely skilled and practiced liar, her curiousity was genuine", Near explained.

There was silence in the room as the three processed what they had found out.

"So, should we contact May and tell her about our main suspect, or investigate her ourselves?" Matt finally asked.

"We'll do both. First we'll find a way to investigate Rouselle ourselves, and then once we're sure of her being Kira we'll report her to May", Mello decided, "though we have to find out how to do that without leaving Wammy's House."

"We'll discuss that later. The lunch bell rang a little while ago and Roger will be suspicious if all three of us aren't there", Near stood up and walked to the door. The other two followed him. When they stepped out into the hall, Mello and Matt both froze. Two men were walking down the same hall, towards them. One of them was Roger. The other was Dmitri Arsov.

The three stepped aside to allow them to pass. Dmitri winked at them as he walked by, and then continued talking to Roger. About the weather. Two and Three both turned bright red. They stayed frozen until the two men had rounded the corner.

"So", Near asked in a conversational tone, "who was he?"

**Reviews help your author start her day off with a smile :)**


	29. Suspect

**School's been holding me up a little, need to keep the average over 92...**

**Anyway, this chapter is really long to make up for it. Oh and there isn't a time difference between what happens in Japan and England, as one reviewer asked. Dmitri just took an airplane. And also, Reader-anonymous (you are absolutely brilliant), for reasons i'll add in later, May will never write into a Deathnote by her own will. **

**Chapter 29**

"What?"

"Please act serious, Misa. If you don't then I'll have to kick you", L said into the speaker, irritated.

"I'm acting perfectly fine!" Misa pouted.

"It's a little unrealistic though", Light offered. The model 'humph'ed and went back to the sessions. I was seated on a chair in the corner with Aiber, Wedy was standing behind Misa, and Light was with her, supervising the act.

"I thought he said he'd tell us the full plan", I said, quiet enough for only Aiber to hear.

"He did, didn't he?" The con man retorted. I sighed, "he didn't tell us exactly why we were going to make Misa contact Yotsuba. Why her? It's not like she's a great actress", I pondered out loud.

Aiber laughed softly, "The stories of her having been interrogated for being Kira have been leaked by one of L's agents to Yotsuba. We'll have an easy time inventing the story because so much of it is true. The month she was away was highly suspicious to her fans, and if there's one thing I've learned, the best lies have a lot of truth in them."

I thought about it, and decided it was probably true. In the anime, Misa would never get to play this part because Matsuda would invent a situation for her. I momentarily thought of stopping him from putting himself in danger, and then ruled against it. It was too important to the storyline. I'd already made too many changes. I turned my attention back to Misa's acting. This time she was giving L the 'adorable wide-eyed curious look' instead of yelling 'what'.

"Misa, stop posing", the detective said, esperated.

"But that's what I do!"

"Normal people don't do that in such a situation."

"Misa's not normal, Misa's special", the actress retorted. But she settled back into another take.

Suddenly the door opened. We all turned to see Matsuda walk in, a little hesitant in disturbing us.

"Ryuzaki…you called me here?" He asked. L stuffed the speaker into his pocket, "yes. From now on you will be Misa's manager, Taro Matsui. Please aquaint yourselves."

He waited as Misa jumped up from her seat and ran over to him, "Hey! I'm Misa Misa. So you're my manager…well, apart from your stuffy fashion you'll do ok", she observed. Matsuda lightened up immediately, "Wow thanks Misa! Pleased to be working with you!"

"In around fifteen minutes Misa has a photoshoot to attend, and you'll have to take her there. I'm also sending May and Aiber with you two", L instructed, "I suggest you leave now."

Aiber got up and stretched an arm, "a photoshoot eh? Sounds fun, I'll try and meet someone useful", he offered a hand to me and pulled me up from where I had been sitting, "let's go then."

"I gotta go change first, and May I suggest you freshen up too, I'm planning on introducing you to someone", she winked at me, and then skipped off in the direction of her bedroom. I stood still for a while, and then realized I was still wearing my dorm pants and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys in the main room downstairs", I gestured and then left to took the elevator to L's floor, where my room was. She was going to introduce me to someone…it must be someone important to the case. Maybe L had informed her about it before. I had to make a good impression.

I stood in front of my closet wondering what to wear. The Spring chill had gone away, and it was a pleasant day out. I pulled out a layered and pleated white skirt and a light blue top with painted flowers down the side, and quickly slipped them on. I put my hair in a high ponytail and looked at myself in the mirror.

Because of all the rest I'd been getting on L's couch, my complexion was back to it's normal tanned shade, though I was looking a little paler than before from not being outside for that long. I picked up a small messenger-style purse and shoved my iPhone, USB and a little cash into it and slung it over my shoulder, walking out the door.

Aiber and Matsuda were already in the lobby when I got down, but Misa wasn't there.

"Where's Misa?" I asked. Matsuda smacked his forehead and pointed to Aiber. The con man shrugged, "she came down in black fishnet stockings, a frilled skirt that had the coverage of a belt, and a purple corset top. What can I say?"

I looked at Matsuda, confused at Aiber's answer.

"Our con man here told her that wasn't appropriate wear for public and that she would give people the wrong idea since she was traveling with two guys. She thought he meant she looked like a hooker so she's gone up to change. Though I'm pretty happy about that", the younger policeman said truthfully. I looked back at the elevator to see it stop.

"Oh look she's back."

Misa returned wearing candy cane stockings with bows on top along with a dark red fitted mini skirt. On top she was wearing a surprisingly modest off-shoulder top that flowed lose before cinching at the top of her skirt.

"How do I look, guys", she did a twirl for us, anxiously waiting approval. Aiber looked just as surprised as me that she was covering up, " it's just fine now, we can start. Matsuda-san only has five minutes to drive at this rate."

We hurried out of the lobby and into Matsuda's Suzuki. All through the drive, Misa sat up front and rambled on to her new manager.

"…so you have to be cheerful alright? My persona is goth and cutesy and you're supposed to be the one enhancing that so people will expect you to be really cheery all the time", she instructed. Matsuda soaked up her every word. I got the feeling that he was paying more attention to the tops of her stockings.

"Yeah, sure. I got it. Cheery, I can do that! Let's rock this photoshoot Misa Misa!" He tried. Misa winced, "you have the main idea Matsui but don't say 'rock' people your age just sound weird when they say stuff like that. Just tone it down a little."

By this point Matsuda was mixed somewhere between intimidated and miserable. It didn't stop him from taking his eyes of the road for the occasional glance at the model's legs. I honestly felt sorry for him, but it was damn funny.

When we finally arrived, Misa jumped out of the car, her stylist was waiting right there in the parking lot.

"Misa-chan! You're early! That's good, very good. And that outfit, it's genious! The red should add to be extra sexy for our next issue. You can spend a little time in the studio before I come and get you alright?" The woman told her.

"Yeah, I planned to come here early. These are some friends of mine, they'll be here for the shoot", she pointed at us. The stylist gave us a wave.

"Come on in, I told Ryuzaki an earlier time so he would let me hang out at the studio before the event", she lead us into the building.

We went to a room that had a large stage with a giant green screen at the back. There were lighting pieces all around and the magazine producers and editorial staff were all off stage, standing around and talking. We followed her right up to the Cosme-Misa producer.

"Mr. Aihara, I brought my new manager!" she said to a tall man holding a small camera.

"Oh good", he looked at Matsuda curiously.

"I'm Taro Matsui! Nice to finally meet you sir!" Matsuda proclaimed. He wasn't as bad as I thought he would be. They shook hands, and then he looked towards us.

"And who are you're other friends?"

"My name is Aiber, I'm a journalist and talent-seeker. Came here to Japan just last week, Misa here is my neice, and I wanted to come see her shine", he made it up effortlessly. immediately took interest and soon they were engaged in conversation.

Soon enough, she had dragged Matsuda over to her stylist in order for him to get used to the system, and her scheduling.

"Now I have someone for you to meet May-chan", she said slyly. I smoothed my hair down with one hand. She lead me over to one of the people who had just finished setting up the green screen.

"Rei!"

The guy peered around the screen from where he was putting it in place. As soon as he saw Misa he smiled widely, "Misa! You're here early! That's certainly a surprise."

I suddenly doubted she was introducing me to him for the sake of the Kira case. In fact, I highly doubted it. The guy was absolutely gorgeous.

"Yes! Misa came here early so her stylist wouldn't yell at her. In fact, Misa brought a friend too! To watch the photoshoot. This is May, she's Misa's new selected model", she rambled on in her cutesy persona. I gave him a hesitant wave.

"Oh hey, I think I've heard of a new girl. You'll fit right in", he gave me a smile and it took a lot out of me to stop myself from melting. Even I had a weakness in hot guys. His kept his hair up to date with the latest Japanese male fashion magazines. Slightly ruffled and anime-like, with a texture I really wanted to run my hands through. It was a dark brown, the same color as his eyes. He reminded me of a Light with darker hair and a more angular face. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans. I immediately added asian guys to my dating list.

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't been modeling for too long but I really enjoy it", I added. I wasn't as good as Aiber but I still had a few background-creating tricks up my sleeve.

"May's great. She's like this off-stage but her persona is smart and sexy and she's great at it", Misa put in cheerfully. I felt like strangling her. Why not just smart? Why did she had to put the sexy in there?

"But I'm going to go get my makeup done now. I'll see you guys later!" She skipped off towards the dressing room. I understoof exactly what she had planned now. She wanted me to hook up with a cute guy so I would let go of Light. But I wasn't complaining.

"Well, the setup's done here. Do you wanna go for a coffee break in the lobby while she gets prepared?" He asked. "Sure", I went along. Again, I wasn't complaining. We went out to the first floor and got cappuccinos. He lead me to a table nearby with a newspaper on it.

"So are you in modeling for a permanent job?" He asked, stirring his drink. I shook my head, "nope, I'm here in Japan studying at To Oh university. Computer Science", might as well get some of the reputation Misa stole by telling him my 'persona'.

"At To Oh? Wow, you're good", he seemed impressed.

"Are you still in academics too?" I asked. He seemed like a smart guy, and only a little older than me, and he spoke fluent english. I guessed he would still be pursuing education.

"Yeah, actually. I'm studying at Tokyo U. Design and Architectural engineering. My dad works here for Cosma-Misa so he got me a part time job in setup and backstage help", he took a sip.

"Cool, what does your dad do?" I was hoping a more interesting topic would eventually come up.

"He's a photoshop artist. You know, the government is trying to set a rule that all 'shopped images have to have a little note at the bottom saying that they've been altered", he tilted his head to one side. I saw an oppourtunity for interesting conversation, "wouldn't that be useless? Most people are aware of photoshop being used."

"Yes but people out there have huge beauty complexes because of the images they see in magazines. Maybe if there were aware of it we wouldn't have so much low self-esteem. They're not all as lucky as you", his eyes lit up in interest.

I smiled, "most people are aware. Girls don't really think what they see in magazines is real. They look at the pictures, think 'omg that's definitely shopped', and then still mull over their own image", I retorted, "in canada, there are a significant number of cases of anorexia nervosa no matter how educated about the media we are. It's ten times worse in America. It's the only country with losts of overweight people and lots of anorexic people."

Rei chuckled, "you're probably right. But that's the sad truth and it doesn't sell."

We laughed. He was fun company. Not as interesting as L or Light, but ten times hotter to make up for it.

"So smart and sexy huh? What do you model?" He asked once we had stopped laughing. "Clothes, accessories and perfume", I told him, "I also do technology", it was easier to think of things now that I had talked to him for a while.

"Techie all the way through. Cool", he suddenly noticed the time on his watch as he put down his coffee, "oh we've gotta get back for the photoshoot now. They're probably ready to start."

We threw out the empty coffee cups and headed back to the larger room. Misa was on stage, and a stylist was making last minute fixings on her hair. I looked around to see Aiber already totally comfortable talking to Mr. Aihara. Trust him to make friends quickly.

She started out in a pose bent over with one hand on her hip. After a couple of photos, she stood up and tilted her shoulder down, blowing a kiss. A few poses later, she was given the 'ok' sign and another male model wearing the brand she was advertising went up and posed back to back with her, holding one hand above their heads.

I wasn't watching the whole thing, halfway through I looked around for Matsuda. He seemed nowhere to be seen. The lady he had been talking to was long gone as well. I suddenly remembered exactly where he was. According to the anime, he was in Yotsuba.

I spend the next few minutes anxiously waiting for the shoot to finish, and Misa to be called over for her meeting. Rei seemed to want to keep talking so the silence didn't get to us. His topic? Clothes…

"You know I've never seen Misa wear an outfit like that. There isn't a trace of black in it, it's just all dark red", he commented.

"It's because her uncle strongly disapproved her previous outfit. She came dressed in fishnets and a miniskirt and she was given a firm no", I explained. He smoothed his hair back and I felt my heart leap at his good looks, "that's funny. Usually she ignores people who tell her that. Her persona is the weirdest I've heard of so far, but it seems to work. Everyone wants a hot girl on their advertisements, but not many people actually sit down to ponder how she's supposed to be gothic and cutesy at the same time."

"I think it's supposed to be a kind of double personality. Or maybe just cutsy but playing dress up", I put in. Truthfully I didn't really care what her persona was.

The shoot was finished in another ten minutes while Rei and I continued to make small talk. After a while Misa came running up to us.

"May, guess what? Matsuda got me a job as Yotsuba's rep! How awesome is that? I'm supposed to be heading over right now, but Matsuda took his car and I have no clue how to get there without it! Hell I don't even know how to drive in the first place!" She said it all in one breath. Rei lit up, "I'll drive you guys there. My car's still here."

"Aww thanks Rei that's so sweet of you! Let's go then! I can't wait!" She gushed.

"What about Aiber?" I asked her. She shrugged, "Ryuzaki said he can handle himself and he knows how to use the buses so he'll be fine. I'm the one that needs to get somewhere fast."

We hurried into the parking lot and stepped into Rei's car. She immediately took the backseat so I sat up front. I supposed it was another attempt in her matchmaking. You had to give it to her, she had great taste in guys. We arrived at the Yotsuba head office in five minutes and Misa scrambled out, checking her hair in the mirror before gesturing for the rest of us to get out and go with her.

"Why are we coming?" I asked, curious.

"You don't need to come into the interview, but I'm as nervous as hell about this", she gave me a wink, which told me that she was planning to implement L's Yotsuba plan a little early.

"Sure then, we'll come", Rei got out of the driver's seat and shut the door, following us to the entrance of the building. We walked in, Misa strutting her heels nervously. The building looked like every other skyscraper that I had seen in downtown Toronto, glass walls, desk in one corner, waxed tiles on the floor. We went up the the main desk to ask where we were supposed to be going.

"Misa Misa? Right, please go to floor three, conference room 4", the desk-helped pointed out. She nodded and came back to us, "there's a waiting room you guys can stay in while I'm doing my interview. If anyone comes by sell me like crazy ok?"

"I'll try my best", I told her. Not that I would, they'd be captivated by her anyway, because of her Kira connections. She gave me a smile and we rushed to the elevator, pressing the third floor. Once Misa had gone into the conference room, Rei and I settled down in the waiting room.

For a good two minutes we were absolutely silent. There wasn't exactly much to talk about. The silence was broken when my iPhone rang. I jumped a meter into the air when toccata and fugue in d started blaring out of my purse, but regained my composure quickly and unlocked the phone.

"May, I'm calling to tell you that in one and a half hours, Misa and her model group will throw a party for the heads of Yotsuba", L's voice filtered through the phone in his normal voice system.

"Oh, ok", I replied, "what should I do?"

"You're going to be there to observe. Matsuda has gotten himself into a deal, you can figure the rest out yourself", he said.

"Alright, sure. Since I'm Misa's new model I'm sure there's a lot I can learn from it", I said, quickly glancing at Rei. Now that he knew the identity I had, I wouldn't need to worry about creating any miscommunications. After I finished saying it, he cut the line.

"What's it about?" Rei asked.

"Misa's putting out a party for the Yotsuba members, my own manager said I should go. Might be fun", I told him.

O.o.O.o.O

"He's someone you never want to meet", Mello shuddered and then continued walking toward the cafeteria.

"Yeah, trust us on that one", Matt followed him. Near walked along, confused but calculating his own idea of what had just happened.

Once they reached the cafeteria, Near hesitated. He looked at Two and Three, but then he looked at the quiet table in the corner where he usually sat. For a second he stood there. Mello and Matt always sat at a table for four right in the middle of the place, and no one else ever sat with them. Probably because they were afraid of them. But they had been treating him differently lately. Would they be offended if he didn't sit with them? He didn't want to offend Two and Three, they were much too useful to him. But would they allow him to sit with them? Near wanted to, he wanted to sit with them. It would be a different experience. But-

"Hey Near come get a slice of cake for me the stupid cooks don't let me have more than one slice!", Mello called. Silent enough that no one else heard in the busy cafeteria. Near went to stand in line for the cake, glad that his question had been implicitly answered.

After the cook handed him a slice of cake, a little reluctantly because Near had never eaten cake, he went over to the table Mello and Matt were sitting and and pushed the cake onto Mello's plate.

"I don't know how you can even eat it, it is overly sugary and prone to cause tooth problems", the whitehead commented.

"Shut up, you don't know the pleasures of life", Mello retorted. He forked the cake, delighted.

"When will you tell me who the man out in the hall was", he inquired. Matt held in a little laugh, "why do you want to know?"

"Wammy's House has never had any new visitors such as himself. I am only curious. It would take a tremendous amount of human stupidity not to be", he replied, slowly digging his fork into a slice of tomato in his salad.

"And that means?" Mello snorted, "he's damn scary."

"Me and Mello thought that he was talking to Roger about Kira, so we hid in the coat closet to listen in. They didn't say anything important, and they knew we were there somehow. When we went to visit him later to bribe him, we found out that he had thought I was Mello's gay boyfriend and we were getting it on in the closet", Matt explained. The blond opposite him choked on chocolate cake, covering it up with a cough.

"So it was a failed bribery?" Near asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. We got away before we could tell him the truth because he was too scary. He may look like a pretty boy from far away but he's got this smile and it's way creepy. We both ditched on the spot", the redhead pushed mini potatoes around on his plate, "we're gonna try and stay away."

"But he's free to leave the House, and you say he's helping L hunt Kira?"

"What about it?"

"Why don't we contact him for our purposes?"

With that declaration Mello coughed loudly and kicked both Matt an Near under the table in a skilled double kick, "no fucking way."

Near brought brought his legs up and crossed them on the chair to prevent further damage, "it's our only chance. I suggest you put your personal complaints away and take it."

"I hate to say it but Near's right on this one. We could get him to investigate Rouselle for us, it's perfect. Once we show him a little of our reasoning, he'll definitely be interested. And our ranks should count for something, along with the fact that we're being trained to be the next L", Matt said hesitantly. He expected another kick and braced himself. Surprisingly, it didn't come.

"Whatever. Let's go get this over with then", Mello stood up, stuffing the last of his cake into his mouth, "I know where he probably is."

The three Wammy boys left the cafeteria and headed down to the guest rooms. Mello stopped right in front of the room Dmitri had stayed in last time and knocked loudly.

After a while, the tall man opened the door. He paused a second, and then smiled.

"Oh it's you two again. How nice. And you are?" He turned to Near.

"My name is Near. May we come in?" He went straight to business.

"Of course. You seem to be in a hurry to say something", he let all three of them enter before closing the door behind them and gesturing for them to sit down on the couch.

"We know that you've been hunting for Kira", Mello burst out. Dmitri didn't move a muscle, "yes. Many people are. But why are you three here?"

"Well, we're not allowed to leave the House, you see", Matt put in before Mello could say something even more fortright.

"Yes I'm well aware of that. Roger and I have had extensive conversations on why he shelters all of you in here instead of successively building your cognitive abilities via allowing you to interact with other communities. He seems afraid that you will be mentally primed by society. But I'm sure you're not here to discuss something that mundane", he finished.

"Actually, we've been hunting for Kira as well. And as Matt so brilliantly mentioned, we're not allowed to leave, so we need to find other methods to follow our suspects", Near told him.

"You have suspects?" Dmitri caught onto it immediately.

"You seem interested", Mello observed. Near thought of opening his mouth, and then decidee it would be better to let Number Two handle it at this point.

"I would be foolish to underestimate you three. Roger has told me a lot about you", he countered.

"Then would you investigate someone we had deemed a suspect?" Mello pushed on.

"It depends. I have to be in a country quite far from here in three days. However I don't have any qualms on funding airplane travel, so if you should present a good enough case for this suspect I will probably humor you", he leaned back in his seat.

"How do we know you won't just take the case to someone else? We could lose our credit", Mello asked. This one, Dmitri thought about. A few seconds later, he finally answered, "I don't know. There's actually no way that could ensure that, with me or anyone else. In fact, you don't even know whether your friend will tell someone, much less me. If you want me to investigate, you'll just have to trust me."

That was good. Near was satisfied. If he had tried too hard to make up a reason, they wouldn't be able to trust him. But he was open about it, which meant he was trustworthy.

"That should be fine then. Matt, show him the suspect", Mello ordered. Matt obligingly took his laptop out of the messenger bag he was carrying and turned it on. He navigated through his crowded file system until he reached what he was searching for.

"She's a journalist in France, 33 years old. We've used the census bureau and the occasional facebook status to figure out a basic biography of her life. Her name is Camille Rouselle, she studied law when she was younger and somehow became a journalist. She met her first husband in highschool, and after they separated ways for university, they met again and got married when she was 24. Six years later, her husband cheated on her with her older sister Helena, and one month after he was married to Helena he died of a heart attack. No previous symptoms or health conditions. In fact, he was very healthy, he won long-distance running contests."

"And that's why you suspect Rouselle?" Dmitri inquired.

"That's one of the reasons. The other reasons, I've typed up here as well. There's one reason that we can't tell you for security purposes, and that's why we're almost sure Rouselle is Kira."

"There's a reason you can't tell me? For security purposes…" For a second his face was calm, in deep though.

"Yes we really can't…" Matt told him apologetically.

Suddenly he burst back into his smile, figuring something out, "oh no, that's perfectly fine. I can work with the information you've given me. You have her address and where she works?"

"Yes, all her personal information is listed here. I'll send you the file", Matt assured.

"It would be nice if I could see a picture of her…" Dmitri started.

"Oh yeah, here, we've got her ID photo", Matt turned the laptop around. Camille Rouselle's face was in an ID box on the screen. She was relatively plain looking, a little on the lanky side. Her face was circular and framed with layered dark brown hair, the bones of her jaw harsh, and her cheekbones low.

"This is her?" He confirmed, looking over the familiar face.

"Yup", Matt nodded.

"Oh dear…"

"Is there a problem?" Near asked, picking up on his hesitation.

"Not at all", Dmitri gave them another smile.


	30. Name

******IB personal project is over! And Monica here just got herself a 7+ (100%)! So i wrote more of In This World. My reviews are dwindling...well, seems to be partly my fault for not updating...**

**Chapter 30**

"You models get all the fun", Rei winked at me, "or can I come?"

I smirked, "nope. It's secured. These corporate geeks don't want anyone who's biography they haven't memorized, and mine is already convieniently on Misa's website."

"I see", he said. For some reason he was looking at me expectantly.

For a second there I stood still, and then I realized that I was missing a pretty common social indication. This was about the time where I was supposed to give him my phone number to show that I was interested…

For a few seconds my mental conversation with myself issued.

_Damn it May, he's just a distraction!_

_But he's freakin hot!_

_Exactly! You prefer brains remember? You'd want to date L!_

_But he's looking at you in "That" way. It means you have to give him your damn phone number!_

_Don't. You'll regret it later. _

_You'll regret it if you don't. And you don't date social nutjobs, remember that? I bet Rei's a much better kisser…._

_Stop thinking like that! You have a mission here! Complete it!_

_You can date him on the weekends!_

_L will become suspicious. _

_Fuck L. _

…_and that's the side of you you're thinking of listening to? Be realistic May. You don't have time to fool around. Much less with someone like him. _

_It's not fooling around stupid it's dating. You've been too stressed recently. You need a break. _

_What if he inquires into your so-called modeling history and finds out the truth? This isn't going to work. _

_It will if you try! He won't mind!_

_I didn't think it would come to this May, but here's my ace: Are you really going to let Misa be your matchmaker?_

At that point it stopped. There was no way I was going to indulge someone that Misa threw at me to get me away from Light. Logical May always pulled through somehow. I gave him a smile and a wave, and turned around to leave the office.

L probably wanted me to get back to headquarters and get ready before heading to the party, because currently, I was not dressed very party-like. I realized my first problem the moment I stepped out of the building. I currently had no methods of transportation with which to get back to my hotel. _Shit…and I thought that was a super-cool exit…_

I couldn't exactly go back in and expect Rei to drop me off, and Matsuda was still in the building with Misa. The only thing to do was call someone at headquarters to pick me up, but that would take too much time. Twenty minutes to come to the Yotsuba office to pick me up, twenty minutes to drive back to the hotel, fifteen minutes to get ready, another twenty to drive back to the building…damn it I the party started in an hour thirty!

Stepping off the curb, I walked out of the building grounds and to the sidewalk of the main street. Across me was a bustop. I figured my best chance would be to stand at the stop and hope that a bus would come soon, and then somehow communicate where I wanted to go in my crappy Japanese…

"May!"

A voice shouted my name, I turned around quickly. Aiber waved at me, standing next to his black Suzuki. I sighed in relief and hurried over to where he was standing.

"You guys left me all along with that bore of a director. You should be glad I decided to come save you", he complained, adjusting his glasses.

"Yes, yes, you're my savior, can we go now?"

He held the door to the passenger seat open, "get in. You wouldn't last two seconds on a bus in japan", he smirked. I gave him a glare and climbed in. He swung into his drivers seat and started driving.

"So I'm coming to this party too, and I'm disguised as Misa's uncle. I'm actually going to pretend to be an accountant, so I'll try and strike up a conversation with Shingo Mido, Matsuda will introduce me to him. Your disguise has no background in business or planning, so you're just going to act like any 22 year old and go after the hottest guy there", he explained.

"They're not exactly pagent winners...I've seen their pictures on L's database. Mido is kind of cute but you're talking to him", I commented.

"What about Namikawa?" He asked.

I thought for a moment. I knew he wasn't Kira, so it would be safe.

"Yeah he's ok. You want me to start talking to him?"

"Yup. Basically Matsuda's figured out that one of them is Kira, and they hold these meetings to decide who to kill. But now even they know which one Kira is. So we need to learn more about these people's personalities, so that I can analyze them and see who fits the decription. Misa's going to be focusing on the rest of them, and getting as much out of them as she can."

"Got it. Anything else I need to know?"

"Do you have a black dress?"

"Yeah."

"Wear it. You have to look dressy, but stay professional. Namikawa doesn't look like the type to go after girls in pink", he laughed.

"Yeah fine…"

We were at headquarters in the next five minutes, and I was trying my best not to show any anxiety in the elevator, stading next to an expert in body language. I rushed past L, who was slouched over his laptop, and into my assigned bedroom.

My closet was neatly organized, so I picked out my black dress without having to rummage. I never really liked it, but Lena had picked it out for me, saying that every girl needed to have a little black dress in her wardrobe. I slipped it on. It was relatively conservative on top, showing just a little more than my blouse would show. I wasn't exactly the most well-endowed girl on the planet so it was alright. The dress focused on showing my legs, by rising up three inches above the knee. That was pushing it in the realm of formal clothing, but my job was to flirt with someone so I didn't mind. No one knew me as May, so my reputation would stay intact.

I considered putting on flats at first, but then I realized that the only pairs of flats that I had were blue and pink, which did not go well with black at all. Apart from that I had two pairs of sneakers…and red platform heels that I swore I'd never wear again after the incident with 13EX.

Suddenly I had an idea. I rushed over to my dresser and pulled out my favorite red hairbow. It matched perfectly with the shoes. I put them both on and stepped out, feeling my feet dying already.

"That looks fine. Report everything to Aiber the moment the party is done", L commented when I stepped out. I frowned. There was something wrong about his tone. It was somehow…condensing. Just slightly.

"Oh, and May. We have a plan in place for today. Am I understood?"

Of course I knew what that was. They were going to schedule Matsuda's falling-of-the-blaconey-death. I nodded.

"Good. Go", he went back to his work.

I followed Aiber out, still wondering about the calculating way in which he had looked at me.

…

"We're here. A little late, but that's always best. Makes you seem more interesting", Aiber commented, parking the car. We climbed out of it and rushed over to the building. I put on a neutral expression, and entered.

We walked over to the desk and asked for Misa-Misa's reception party, the attendant pointed the way. It was taking place in a small reception room, with three small couches forming most of a square in the middle of the room, a bar in one corner where a man in a waiter's uniform was serving wine, and a glass door that lead to the balcony. Misa Misa and her friends were already there, wearing cute dresses with heart shapes cut out of the tops, and miniskirts.

"May!"

Misa ran up to me as soon as I entered and took both my hands in hers excitedly, "I know what your job is", she whispered quickly. Then she turned around and clapped for attention, "Everyone, this is my new model, May! She'll be helping out here, and she's really excited that I'm going to be working for you!"

Everyone looked at me. Most of them were drunk and couldn't figure out something to say to me. Sighing, Reiji Namikawa stepped forward, him, Ooi, and Mido were the only sober ones. Out of those three, only Namikawa and Mido seemed to be fluent in English, and Mido was occupied by Aiber.

"Well, welcome to Yotsuba. We're pleased to be working with you and Misa", Namikawa said, dryly.

I gave him a smile, "you know, sending Misa to your company was a pretty sudden decision, so I don't know much about you", I hoped that would get him talking. His expression remained neutral, "we're a software and development company, I am the head of sales."

That was something they had never mentioned in the anime. I'd always thought they were the Japanese version of Manulife Financial.

"Interesting. I used to model for software companies like yours", I put in. Holding a conversation with this guy was hard. I wished that Matsuda would just fall of the stupid balcony already.

Luckily, the god of awkward situations seemed to take pity on me. At that moment, Matsuda burst out of the bathroom.

"Hey…guys…you wanna see something cool..?" He stuttered as he made his way across the room.

"It's time…for the Matsui show…yeah…."

Misa gave him a overly-worried look. I was seriously beginning to doubt her acting skills.

", I think you may be a little too drunk…" Mido began, halting his conversation with Aiber.

"Nah…this is where all the fun begins. Everyone watch the Matsui show!" He climed onto the balcony. Misa's hands were covering her mouth, and everyone was watching, somehow dreading whatever was going to happen. Their fears came true when he mounted himself on top of the balcony railing.

"Ah ha ha!...I'm awesome aren't I? …"

Suddenly he fell over the railing. One of Misa's girls screamed. Namikawa and Ooi jumped up in alarm. Misa rushed over and peered out into the street. She turned around with the overly-worried-expression still on her face. Except now it looked appropriate for the situation.

"Everybody…everybody the party's over for now. Don't worry about anything, I'll take care of it all. Remember to call me for your next promo…it's been a great night, bye!" She rattled of. Everyone in the room left immediately, not wanting to have any of the blame placed on them. Including Misa's model girls. Misa looked over to Aiber and I, "let's go down there and help out."

I nodded, knowing that we were just going back to headquarters.

…

Misa went straight to her rooms as soon as we got back. Aiber took the elevator to his floor. I decided to check in and see how L was doing first.

When I walked into the room, L was typing furiously on his laptop, like usual.

"I hope you don't mind that I didn't get much information from Namikawa. I didn't have a lot of time to talk", I explained.

He nodded. Light, on the other hand, was fast asleep. He was sprawled on the couch, hands curled in fists around his head and legs curled in. He was still all dressed up, his cloths wrinkled, There wasn't a blanket in sight. He was probably freezing to death, poor guy.

"Well…I guess I'll turn in for the night then", I turned to leave.

"Stay."

"What is it? I'm dead tired and I would like to sleep", I complained.

"I've turned off all the wiretaps in the room. However I have to keep the video feed on at all time for security purposes. Light, as you can see, is fast asleep right over there. He's decided to sleep on the couch next to me instead of attempting to convince me to go to a bed with him. You may speak freely but don't show any strong emotions or they may wonder what we have been talking about", he said. His voice was still stiff.

I snapped back into reality, now actually worried. I sat down on the couch and pushed myself back into full conciousness, "what's wrong?"

"You lied about your name."

I stayed silent for a few minutes. That was not what I had expected.

"Did you go hunting for my information? I thought I had it all deleted", first I wanted to know how he had gotten it.

"An eye for an eye…" he whispered. I watched him, still waiting for answer.

"All the records have been deleted. However there was a diary in Lena Mihailov's room which had your last name in it, in an entry made three years ago", he explained.

It figured. There was no way I could have ever been that precise in my deletions. There were a few moments of silence.

"You obviously already know why I'm hiding it."

"Yes", he nibbled on his finger, "to prevent Kira from being able to kill you."

"Yes."

"You knew the specifications of what information Kira needed in order to kill when you came to Japan."

"Yes", the best way was to keep to the truth. I could see where he was going with this.

"But what information could you have possibly had to deduce that? You knew that Kira needed your full name, not just your first name. The police, with their extensive resources, only realized that three months after you presumable found out."

I knew it was trouble when he started talking in subjunctives.

"Who are you, Mayra?" He asked.

"I'm Mayra. I currently attend a masters program in IT at To-Oh university. I worked as a game programmer, and a hacker. I like chess, and drawing, and badminton, and…"

I listed off the answer, it was somehow eerie. Absolute silence with only my monotone voice filling it as if I was a computer reading information off a database.

"…joined the Kira investigation and-"

"How can you expect me to trust you if you won't even tell me who you are?" He interrupted. I stopped talking.

"I know your name, you know mine. An eye for an eye, just like you said Ryuzaki. Let's leave it at that. There's nothing I can say that would please you enough anyway", I lied. It was a nice lie, and it was related to the truth. There's no way L would belive I was from some alternate world in which deathnote was just a series. And if I tried to prove it by showing how much I know, he would only hold it against me.

"Again, why should I trust you?"

"Because you'll probably die if you don't."

That mind-numbing silence was around again. It was so quiet I could almost hear the tension in the air.

"The only way that I can die is if you tell someone my name. Are you threatening me with exposure?" he kept his gaze on me.

The idiot. He took everything the wrong way…

"There are other ways to kill someone. And I assure you, my goal here is to keep you alive. Even if you did kick me out I wouldn't expose your name", I told him. I hoped that knowing my goal would be enough to please him for the time being. Eventually, I planned to think of a better excuse, but I needed to buy time.

"To keep me alive? Why?"

"It's not just you, the person. You're important as a person to me, of course, but only now. Before, I didn't know you, but I did know that you represented the upholding of justice across the world, and that was what I wanted to keep from dying", I explained.

"Lofty goals for a student", he commented. I could tell that he was starting to back off. The information he gained from me was enough to last him the next while before he started questioning again.

"Yeah", I gave him a genuine smile, "you've probably been brought up this suspicious, and it's a good thing. But pretend that I'm your wildcard. You'll probably die without me, but you have the evidence of my word that I'll help you catch Kira if you keep me with you."

"I suppose I do. As long as you don't step outside any lines I'll let you help. But I'm going to watch you closely. Remember that", L gave me a deep look. It was the kind of look that said 'fine I'll pretend to give up because I have nothing else to go on'.

"Thank you Ryuzaki", I smiled as brightly as I could, "do you have anything important to do at the moment? I'm no that tired anymore so I can help."

"No, nothing involving this case. It's another case about a missing artefact. I have solved it, I am just relaying the information to the police", he explained, "you may sleep. I planned to have evening talks about the case with the two of you in order to gain more insight, but Light is being particularly adamant at the moment."

"I see", I smirked at the thought of Light having another hygene argument.

"Oh, and do you mind resting on a couch for the night. It's just turned midnight, and the security closed off the hallways forty-four seconds ago. If you hadn't asked me that last question you could have made it to your room in time, since it's right across the hall", he informed me in a monotone.

I facepalmed, "Damn it…is it ok if I take that couch?" I pointed to the other one.

"Yes, as you can see I'm not using it."

I took one more look at Light, still freezing in his sleep, "Ryuzaki do you have a blanket?"

He turned around and pointed to a drawer, "there's one in there. Watari uses it sometimes."

I smiled and opened the drawer, drawing out the red blanket from inside. I moved it over to the couch and threw it on. Then I slipped my heels off and slid under the blanket.

"Night, Ryuzaki."

He was too busy in his case to reply.

**Reviews are like chocolate milk. Sealtest Chocolate Milk that foams brilliantly and makes you feel like your tongue is covered in cream with every sip. **


End file.
